



* 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 



Chap£§Sf Copyright NclcTt 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 



Short- Suit Whist 



BY 



VAL. W. STARNES 



'Individually, every card is more valuable when 
led up to than when led" 



0CT24^S96 
BRENTANO'S h 

NEW YORK CHICAGO WASHINGTON 

1896 



(All rights reserved) 



&V/.2-- , 



Copyright, i8g6 t 

BY 

BRENTANO'S 



TO 

R. F. FOSTER, 

WHOSE WRITINGS ON WHIST 

HAVE ENCOURAGED AND MATERIALLY ASSISTED 

THE AUTHOR, 

THIS LITTLE BOOK 

IS 

GRATEFULLY DEDICATED. 



PREFACE. 



TT it is sincerely hoped that the whist-reading public 
will receive the following pages in the spirit in 
which they were written. Merely to add another 
work to the literature of the game was not the author's 
purpose in preparing them. Nor was he actuated by 
any groundless antagonism to established methods as a 
whole, since the scheme of play recommended is only 
intended to supplement, and not to supplant. This 
book is simply the natural outcome of a strong convic- 
tion of the theoretical soundness of Short-Suit Whist; 
the author's faith in short-suit doctrines having 
prompted him to reduce the leading principles to a 
definite system, so that their practical efficacy might 
be put to the test. 

The author found nothing but pleasure in the 
writing. He will be content if the student derives an 
equal amount of profit from the reading. 



CONTENTS. 



Preface, vii 

Preliminary Remarks, - 9 

Technical Terms, - 21 

Tenace, - - ■ 26 

Finesse, -------- 52 

Cross-Ruffing, - 63 

Conventional Leads, - - - - - 70 

Short-Suit Leads, ----- 85 

Detecting Short-Suit Leads, - - - 92 

The Short-Suit Game, - - - - 104 

The Lkader, - - - -•--"- - 109 

The Third Hand, - - - - 136 

Table of Third Hand Play, - - - 142 

The Second Hand, - - - 148 

Illustrative Games, - - - - - 153 

The Bath Coup, - - - - - 168 

Opponent of the Short-Suit Player, - 175 

Suggestions, - - - 180 

Conclusion, - 184 

Laws of Whist, 187 

Index, - - 197 



PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 



Nowhere, perhaps, is there record of any one game 
of cards having taken such a hold upon public fancy 
as Duplicate whist has in America. There was a time, 
it is true, a century and a half ago, when the playing 
of Quadrille constituted the serious business, and the 
making of wars and treaties the lighter occupation of 
the European courts. But quadrille was limited to the 
nobility, and I doubt if the game was even known 
among the middle classes. Duplicate whist, however, 
has more than doubled the field of fascination, and 
during the past few years, in which this form of the 
game has become the rage, it has permeated all circles 
of society, the Four Hundred and the Four Million 
alike ; and all sections of the country, from Maine to 
Matamoras, and from St. Augustine to Seattle. Within 
our national borders at least, it holds the boards, meta- 
phorically and literally, and one must play it or fail 
repeatedly in responding to the demands of social in- 
tercourse. 

That extremes are to be avoided in everything is a 



10 SHORT-STOT WHIST. 

platitude as ancient as the first copy book ; but when 
partaken of in moderation, Duplicate whist offers a 
pleasant relaxation from the toils and frets of the day, 
and the American people need not be in the least 
ashamed of its present universal prevalence. On the 
contrary, we should rather congratulate ourselves upon 
having established an intellectual pastime from which 
the element of chance has been greatly eliminated ; a 
game attractive for itself alone ; its reward the satisfac- 
tion of winning a skilfully conducted contest, and not, 
as is the case with the shilling points of our English 
cousins and of our own progressive euchre parties, the 
more or less substantial returns of the gaming-table. 

But it is not my purpose to enter into an argument 
in defense of whist, a service that the game does not 
require from any champion. Their majesties of Hearts, 
Clubs, Spades, and Diamonds have too many staunch 
adherents throughout the land to render such pleading 
necessary; and even if it were, the duty would fall 
more fitly on some one of the numerous contempora- 
neous writers whose pens have dealt so ably and ex- 
haustively with all the elements of the subject — save 
one. It is the object of this work to call attention to 
that one, which has been granted such scant considera- 
tion by others. 

The whist-players of America may be divided into 
three classes : The first is limited to the expert old- 
stagers and champions of the clubs, who are too thor- 
oughly posted to need any teaching. The second, 
likewise small, is composed of those who regard the 



PRELIMINARY REMARKS. II 

game simply as an adjunct to their social duties, and 
who do not care about being taught at all. The third 
embraces the large mass of moderate players, and those 
who really wish to learn ; the result of the desire being 
that such of them as are ' ' natural-born whist-players' ' 
soon become worthy of a place in the first-class. But 
natural-born whist-players are few ; to the majority 
there eventually comes a time when the summit of 
their proficiency is reached, and they find themselves, 
though with the best intentions in the world, sitting 
down to the table each evening to play no better than 
they did a week before. It is chiefly for these that the 
following pages have been compiled, and if the sug- 
gestions they contain will enable a few of the number 
to win, instead of losing, an occasional game, the 
author will feel that he has not labored in vain. 

But the reader will naturally wish to know how, 
otherwise than by becoming an all-round fine whist- 
player one may attain to this end. 

I simply answer ; by playing the Short-Suit Game. 

It is customary with most writers on whist merely to 
touch upon the original lead from a short suit ; a lead 
which they regard as being resorted to only under 
compulsion, as is evidenced by their classification of it 
as "forced." To take it as an initial step, and to 
evolve from it a regular scheme of play that can be set 
down in black and white, seems never to have occurred 
to them. That they leave for the master players, each 
after his own fashion, to do for himself. 

But I can see no reason for conceding such a prerog- 



12 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

ative to the experts alone, nor why some one should 
not undertake for the short-suit game what so many 
have done for the long ; that is, to disintegrate and 
analyze its requirements, and to build up therefrom a 
connected system of play that is to some extent amen- 
able to rules, so that even an average player, without 
any excessive expenditure of time and study, could 
gather enough of its principles to warrant him in 
attempting to play it. 

Briefly to carry out this purpose is the writer's 
aim. 

Before the advent of ' ' Cavendish ' ' and Pole it was 
the custom of all writers on whist to lay great stress on 
the value of tenace suits, and to insist that such suits 
should not be led from originally, and that suits that 
became tenaces should be discontinued. They also 
paid great attention to ruffing', and freely recommended 
the leads of singletons and two-card suits. Mathews, 
Major A, Admiral Burney, Cam, and Cselebs all rec- 
ommended leading strengthening cards, and warned 
the player against attempting to establish long suits 
with weak hands. But during the past thirty years all 
writers on whist, with the exception of " Pembridge " 
and Foster, have advocated the long-suit game to the 
exclusion of all other forms of strategy. Procftor, Clay, 
Drayson, "Cavendish," G. W. P., Ames, Hamilton, 
Coffin, Work, and Street have based their theories 
entirely upon those of Dr. Pole, and have insisted that 
the original lead, except under abnormal or " forced " 
circumstances, must always be from the longest-strong- 



PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 1 3 

est suit. This doctrine has been so widely spread by 
writers, and so exclusively followed by teachers that 
the ordinary player never dreams of following any 
other system. With him the play of the long suit is 
synonymous with playing whist. 

In the face of such weighty and almost unanimous 
authority in favor of the long-suit game, it is venturing 
upon a bold assertion for anyone to deny the advis- 
ability of this orthodox opening. Its general adoption 
is perhaps the strongest argument in its favor. When 
called upon, as many of us frequently are, to pair with 
a different partner in each successive game, the advan- 
tages of a uniform system are manifest and patent. Its 
code of original leads are so universally understood that 
the partners are placed somewhat in touch at once, and 
so are enabled to play the two hands to a certain extent 
as one. It must be confessed that the short-suit game 
does not so readily lend itself to rule of thumb, but it 
can be systematized to a much greater extent than is 
generally supposed, and many definite directions can be 
given which will enable the partners easily to read each 
others' hands. When both of them have some acquaint- 
ance with this method of play I very much question the 
wisdom of the original lead from the long suit under all 
circumstances. 

To go to the opposite extreme, and insist upon the 
universal adoption of the short-suit lead would be tak- 
ing a still bolder step, and would be almost as great a 
mistake as the invariable lead from the long suit. But 
if compelled to make a choice I am not at all sure that 



14 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

it would not be the wiser course to select the short-suit 
lead with a reliable partner. 

This sounds iconoclastic enough, no doubt, but the 
following experiment made a great impression on me, 
and is largely responsible for my opinion. 

I recently gathered one hundred deals from various 
sources, taking them just as they came, and throwing 
out only such as presented no possibility of an original 
short-suit lead from either side ; short suits being con- 
sidered those of three cards or less, not headed by either 
ace or king. These I carefully played over, originally 
and in duplicate, N-S following the long-suit system in 
every instance, and B-W the short. Each side was 
allowed the full advantage of every inference that a 
player of moderate calibre might be expected to draw 
from the fall of the cards. The result was in the nature 
of a surprise, even to one predisposed to the short-suit 
theory. 

In twenty-seven cases the result was a tie, neither 
system gaining a trick. In the remaining seventy- 
three, the long-suit players, N-S, made a gain of one 
or more tricks on twenty-four hands, while the short- 
suit players, B-W, gained one or more tricks on forty- 
nine hands. The greatest number of tricks gained on 
any one hand by the long-suit players was four, and by 
the short-suit players six. The total number of tricks 
gained by the short-suit play was more than three 
times the number gained by their opponents. 

These figures are interesting, and worthy of some 
consideration, though I make no claim that they are 



PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 1 5 

conclusive. Were I inclined to do so, many arguments 
might be advanced in support of the probability that 
the results so obtained were about the true averages of 
gain. 

It is a pretty and pleasant performance boldly to 
lead out and exhaust the trumps, and then to bring in 
an established long suit, taking trick after trick with 
fours, threes, and deuces, while aces and kings of other 
suits fall from the adversaries. But this consummation, 
though devoutly to be wished, is a much rarer one 
than the general run of players will admit, and when 
it fails to come off, the very means adopted for bring- 
ing it about result not only in no gain, but almost 
inevitably in direct loss. The average player, in his 
efforts to bring in his long suit, is apt to consider the 
trumps held by his opponents as so many impediments 
l;o the end he has in view, and to devote those in his 
own and his partner's hand to clearing these obstruc- 
tions from his path. The short-suit player, on the 
contrary, regards each of his trumps as a potential 
trick-maker, and strives to justify his opinion of them 
by playing them with the same care that he does his 
plain-suit cards. Add to the gain from these methods 
the tricks frequently gathered in a few moments by the 
deadly cross-ruff, and those saved by not leading from 
a single or double tenace, and most, if not all, the dif- 
ference in the results of the systems played by N-S 
and E-W in the experimental hundred hands is ac- 
counted for. Aces and kings are pretty sure to count 
for the side to which they are dealt ; but the ad van- 



1 6 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

tages of the short-suit system more than offset the 
occasionally established small cards of the long suits. 

The chief points of difference between the long and 
the short-suit game may be stated as follows : 

The Long-suit game counts on obtaining for cards a 
trick-making value to which they are not originally 
entitled, by securing the lead when 3 T our opponents' 
trumps and their master holdings in the suit have 
been exhausted. 

The Short-suit game contemplates the endowment of 
the intermediate cards of all suits, trumps included, 
with winning properties, by taking advantage of their 
position in tenace, by underplay, and by strengthening 
leads which shall be judiciously finessed by the partner. 
It also prefers making your own and 3-our partner's 
trumps separately on the master cards of the enemy, 
when the opportunity occurs, instead of having them 
fall together. 

Each of these schemes of play has at times so much 
to recommend it that it would seem absolutely absurd 
to waste words in arguing for or against the pre- 
emptory adoption of either. I insist that even the 
moderate player, if he will give the least thought to 
the matter, is fully capable of discriminating between 
the two, instead of blindly following cut and dried 
precepts for no other reason than that the consensus of 
anthority has hitherto been wholly in that direction. 

Give me^AKQj2;4AKQJio; A ; + 
Q J, and I will ignore the short-suit game as utterly 
as if it had never been thought of 5 although the hand 



PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 1 7 

contains one of its strongest leads. But such a royal 
assemblage of strong cards seldom falls to the lot of 
any player. 

Far more frequently I pick up a problem of this kind : 
^?J2; 4*97643; 1084; #J5- There is not 
a certain trick in this hand; not a certain card of re-en- 
try, even though the lead and return of a spade should 
bring down the five outstanding cards superior to the 9. 
Surely it does not require a great amount of discern- 
ment to perceive that the best chance lies in leading 
the ♦ J, and not, as " Cavendish," G. W. P., Ames, 
Hamilton, and most other writers will tell you, the 

♦ 4. 

Take this pretty fair hand: ^6432; 4Jk 1043; 
AQ7; ♦ AQ10. Here the conventional lead is 
the fourth-best trump, the ^ 2. Or if you are not tied 
down strictly to rule, you might prefer to open the 
strongest of the three plain suits, the clubs. Do either 
at Duplicate whist, and take my word for it that if your 
opponent leads the 4)^ IO on the overplay, you will dis- 
cover that you have lost on that hand at least three 
times out of five. 

Trusting that these preliminary remarks have brought 
the reader to the point of being willing to add the short- 
suit weapon to the arms he already carries in the shape 
of his knowledge of the game, we are prepared to enter 
into the practical part of the subject more definitely. 
The reader is in no way called upon to discard estab- 
lished methods, but simply to lay them aside under 
certain circumstances, and to take up the less familiar 



1 8 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

style of play ; a change from which I can assure him 
he will reap undoubted benefit. 

I take it for granted that my readers already know 
how to play a fair game of the standard long-suit pat- 
tern, and are conversant with most of the technical 
terms that comprise the vocabulary of whist. As a 
matter of convenience, however, some expressions fre- 
quently used in the following pages may be given: 



TECHNICAL TERMS. 



Bring In. — To bring in a suit is to make all the cards 
of it that you hold, after the adverse trumps have 
been exhausted. 

Call. — To call, or ask for trumps, is to play an unnec- 
essarily high card, and then a lower one of the 
same suit ; it being evident that you are not trying 
to win the trick. The discard of any card higher 
than a 7 is also a call. 

Command. — You are said to have command of a suit 
when it is evident that unless some player holds a 
very unusual number you can take every trick in 
it, no matter who leads it. You may have com- 
mand from the start, or may acquire it through the 
fall of the cards. 

Conventionality. — Any generally recommended and 
accepted form of play is conventional. 

Cover. — To play a card higher than the one put down 
by the previous player is to cover. 

Deal. — Each successive play of thirteen tricks is a deal. 

Established Suit. — A suit is established when it is 
capable of being brought in, and all the cards you 
hold in it are trick-winners, bar trumping. 

Echo. — In response to partner's trump call or signal, 
you echo by repeating the call when you have 
four or more trumps, but cannot at once get the 



20 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

lead. When you have four or more trumps, and 
your partner leads them, you echo in the same way 
if you do not try to take the trick. Many players 
echo with three trumps. For the plain-suit echo, 
see " Unblocking." 

Finesse. — See the chapter on that subject. 

Follow. — The second hand follows the first ; the 
third the second, etc. To follow suit is to play a 
card of the same suit as the one led. 

Force. — You force an adversary by leading the master 
card of a suit of which he is void. You force your 
partner by leading a suit which the adversary will 
win if he does not trump it. 

Forced L,ead. — The original lead from a suit of three 
cards or less is regarded by long-suit players as 
forced. 

Great Suit. — A suit of more than four cards, and all 
of them very strong, is called a great suit. 

Guarded. — A high card is said to be guarded when 
you have with it one or more small ones to throw 
off in case higher cards than your best should be 
played. 

Hand. — The thirteen cards dealt to each player con- 
stitute his hand. 

High Cards. — The ace, king, queen, jack, ten and 
nine are reckoned as high cards. 

Honors. — Since honors are no longer counted in 
America, the term may be applied to all face cards, 
which are the AKQ and J. The ten is some- 
times included. 



TECHNICAL TERMS. 21 

Lead. — The first card played in every trick is the lead* 

The original lead is the first card played after the 

cards are dealt. It is sometimes applied to the 

first lead made by each player. 
Led Through. — The second hand in every trick is 

led through by his right-hand adversary. 
Led Up To. — You are led up to when you are third or 

fourth player on any trick. 
Long Suit. — A suit of four or more cards is nominally 

a long suit, as distinguished from a short suit, 

which is three cards or less. 
Master Card. — The highest card remaining in any 

suit is called the master card. 
Medium Cards. — Cards between the king and the 

eight. 
Opening. — The first lead made by a player is called 

his opening, or opening lead. 
Original Play. — At Duplicate whist the first play of 

each board or deal is called the original play, or 

simply the original. 
Overplay. — All subsequent playing of the boards at 

Duplicate whist is called overplay. 
Pass. — You pass when you make no effort to win the 

trick, although you might do so. You pass when 

you finesse the card led by your partner. 
Plain Suit. — The three suits which are not trumps in 

any deal are called plain suits. In the following 

pages the spades, diamonds, and clubs will always 

be plain suits. 
Re-Entry. — A card of Re-entry is a winning card 



22 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

which can be utilized to obtain the lead in some 
suit other than your long one. 

Renounce. — To renounce is to play a card of a differ- 
ent suit from the one led. Renege is another name 
for it, and both are covered by the term "discard- 
ing." 

Revoke. — A player revokes when he fails to follow 
suit, though able to do so, or when he refuses to 
comply with a performable penalty. The term is 
generally confined to trumping a suit of which the 
player still holds one or more cards. 

Round. — The same as trick. 

Ruffing. — The same as trumping. Cross-ruffing will 
be explained in a separate chapter. 

Sequence. — Two or more cards next in value to 
each other are said to be in sequence, such as K 
Q, or Q J 10. Three cards in sequence are called 
a tierce ; four, a quart. If the highest cards 
held in a suit are in sequence, they are called a 
head sequence. 

Short Suit. — A suit of three cards or less is short. 
In the following pages a short suit is preferably 
one of two cards only. 

Singleton. — The original holding of one card of a 
suit is called a singleton ; sometimes a " sneak," 
a term which confounds the card with the act of 
leading it, which is by some considered ' 'sneaking. ' ' 

Signal. — The same as calling for trumps. 

Small Cards. — All cards below the nine are small. 

Strengthening. — A strengthening lead is the play of 



TECHNICAL TERMS. 23 

a Q J 10 or 9, which is not led from any regular 
high card combination. The hope is that the 
fourth hand may be forced to play a much higher 
card in order to win the trick, and that any inter- 
mediate or lower cards in the hand of the leader's 
partner may be strengthened. This strengthen- 
ing play is one of the principal features of the 
short-suit game. 

Strong Suit. — The same as a great suit. 

Tenace. — A separate chapter will be devoted to this. 

Throwing the L,EAd. — Playing a card that some other 
player must win, so that the player who throws 
the lead may be led up to, instead of leading 
again himself. 

Trumping in. — Ruffing a suit in a trick in which you 
are not last player ; usually applied to second- 
hand trumping a doubtful trick. 

Unblocking. — If a player holds exactly four cards in 
his partner's suit, and does not try to win the 
trick, he unblocks, or makes a plain-suit echo, by 
retaining his lowest card, and playing his third- 
best. On the second round the lowest card is still 
retained, whether any attempt is made to win the 
trick or not. This preserves in the third hand a 
low card, which the original leader can always 
take if led to him, or which will not block his 
long suit if he is in the lead himself. If the 
highest card is kept until the last, it may prevent 
the original leader from bringing in several smaller 
cards, which he may have established. The orig- 



24 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

inal leader can usually detect the unblocking, and 
for that reason it is called a plain-suit echo, for it 
shows him that his partner has four cards of the 
suit. The echo is usually considered more im- 
portant than the unblocking. 

Undkrpi.ay. — Playing a small card, when holding a 
higher, is usually resorted to when there is some 
strategic purpose in view, and is called under- 
playing. 

Void. — When a player has no card of a suit dealt to 
him, he is void. When he has played or dis- 
carded all that were dealt to him, he is exhausted. 

Permanent Trump Suit. — For the sake of conve- 
nience all games and diagrams in the following 
pages will be supposed to be played at Duplicate 
whist, with the heart suit declared trumps, but no 
trump card turned up. 

Signs. — In illustrating various holdings, the plus sign 
+ will be made use of to indicate one or more 
small cards, the face value of which is unimport- 
ant. When the exact number, but not the value, is 
of moment, an ' ' x " will represent each one of such 
cards. For instance : A K + will mean ace king 
and any number of small cards. Q x x x will 
mean queen and exactly three small cards. K x 
x + will mean king and at least two others, though 
more than two would make no difference to the 
point under consideration. 

We may now turn our attention to the practice of 



TECHNICAL TERMS. 25 

the short-suit game, the principal elements of which 
are : A strict regard for the value of tenace ; deep 
finesse; and cross-ruffing. 



TBNACB. 



It is really astonishing how universally medium 
players are lacking in information with regard to the 
important combination of the cards upon which the 
name of tenace has been bestowed. A young lady who 
is conceded to be the best player in her set asked me 
ingenuously what was meant by tenace, and wherein 
lay the especial advantage of holding an ace and a 
ten. To those who are informed, this query may seem 
ridiculous, since the books tell us that tenace is de- 
rived from the Latin tenax, tenacious, holding ; mean- 
ing that you hold back, instead of leading from, the 
tenace suit. I am by no means satisfied with the cor- 
rectness of the accepted definition ; it might well be that 
the term actually originated from ' ' ten ' ' and ' ' ace, ' ' 
as my fair young friend supposed, for these two cards 
constitute an excellent tenace when any two of the 
three remaining honors fall on the first trick. The ten 
and ace may have been the first representative of the 
tenace species noticed by whist naturalists ; or perhaps 
the word may have been coined to indicate the double 
tenace, first, last, all-embracing, ten-queen-ace. 

However that may be, a single major tenace consists 
of the best and third-best of the unplayed cards of any 
suit ; and the single minor tenace is the second and 
fourth-best. If the A K Q J and 10 of a suit have 



TKNACE. 27 

been played, the 9 and 7 form the major tenace ; the 
8 and 6 the minor ; just as the A Q and the K J 
formed these ten aces before the suit was opened. In 
speaking of the major and minor tenaces in the ab- 
stract, the A Q and the K J are always meant. 

The double major tenace comprises the first, third, 
and fifth best of a suit, as A Q 10 ; or the 975, when 
all the higher cards have been played. The double 
minor tenace is the K J 9 of an unplayed suit. 

When one player is said to hold tenace over another, 
it is understood that his hand contains the major ten- 
ace; but it must not be supposed that the minor tenace 
is merely a negative quantity. The same importance 
that attaches to not leading from a suit containing a 
major tenace applies with equal force to one containing 
the minor. The latter is heir- apparent to the elder 
brother. The moment the master card of a suit is 
played the minor tenace becomes the major. 

When you hold a single or double tenace, major or 
minor, it is very important to avoid leading the suit, 
if possible ; for it will be much more to your advantage 
to have it led by some other player, unless you have 
so many cards of the suit that it is unlikely to go 
round more than once. For example: If you lead from 
the single major tenace you are sure of only one trick. 
If you wait for the lead to come from some other 
player, you are likely to make two tricks. If the lead 
comes from your left-hand adversary you are sure of 
two tricks, bar trumping. If you lead from a double 
major tenace, you are sure of but one trick. By wait- 



28 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

ing you may make three, and if the lead comes twice 
from your left, nothing but trumping will prevent your 
so doing. 

When we consider how often a long suit contains a 
single or double tenace, it is not difficult to realize the 
possible loss involved by leading away from it. As 
nearly as I can calculate the average, the original 
leader will find his long suit headed by the single 
major tenace once in every eight deals, and by the 
double major tenace once in every twenty-two deals. 
So that once in every eight hands, or twice in every 
four boards, at least a point may be lost by leading 
from a suit headed by a tenace. 

The foregoing may appear simple enough, but when 
I have attempted to explain the subject to players who 
were above the average in other respects, I have invar- 
iably been interrupted by a tossing of the hands, as if 
in despair, and by protests of hopeless confusion. 
Especially has this been the case with the gentler sex, 
and to overcome their difficulties I have endeavored to 
explain the matter by a simple form of comparative 
illustration. 

Let us strive to conceive a game in which you have 
a handful of marbles, regularly graded in size from the 
largest to the smallest, and I have a handful of small 
cups or thimbles, each of which corresponds in its 
dimensions to one of your marbles. Let us suppose 
my object is to cover each one of your marbles with a 
thimble, and that your aim is to prevent my doing 
so. 



TKNACE. 



2 9 



©Q ©/n 



©£ 



Now, if you first place a marble on the table, say 
No. 1 in the illustration, all I have to do is to select 
the corresponding thimble and cover it. When you 
put down No. 2 and No. 3, I will cover them in the 
same manner. All your marbles will then be exactly 
covered, thus : 





But if I am to play first, and place No. 1 thimble on 
the table, there is nothing to prevent you from placing 
under it your very smallest marble, No. 3 for instance. 
My thimble completely covers your marble, it is true, 
but advantage has not been taken of its fullest capac- 
ity. You now hold the advantage, and I must event- 
ually be forced to put down a thimble which will not 
cover your remaining marble, and you will win. 





30 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

It is easy to see that in a wildly exciting game of 
this character, the last play would, be everything, and 
the player who had the choice (as one always has with 
a tenace suit) , and elected to play first, would be con- 
sidered very stupid. It should be equally clear that 
the only resource for the player who was compelled to 
begin would be for him to play his smallest marble or 
thimble first. 

This is tenace in a nutshell ; or, rather, in a thimble. 

Let us take the A Q 10 of hearts instead of the 
thimbles, No. i, 2, 3 ; and the K J 9 instead of the 
marbles. Now, if yon hold the minor tenace and play 
first, all I have to do is just to cover the card you play, 
and as long as you continue to play first, I can cover 
anything you put down. On the other hand, if I be- 
gin, and put down the ace, you will play your smallest 
card, just as you put your smallest marble under my 
largest thimble. The ace wins the trick, it is true, but 
full advantage has not been taken of its capacity, for 
though capable of capturing a king, it has been ex- 
pended on a nine. If we each held six cards of a suit, 
you having all the odd and I the even cards, you could 
play the trey on my ace, and after that you could cover 
every card I put down. 

It will now readily be seen that any player holding 
a tenace, and electing to lead from it, commits a 
blunder. If he is forced to lead it, it should be equally 
apparent that his best chance would be to play his 
smallest card first. 

That this comparison may.be considered common- 



TENACK. 



31 



place, or even childish, I am well aware, but it often 
happens that just such homely illustrations prove the 
most effective. I realize that the parallel cannot be 
carried out to the end, but it is sufficiently exact to 
serve our purpose. 

Now let us return to the actual cards, and to some 
of the simpler phases of tenace, premising that to avoid 
complication in the following illustrations, trumping 
by partner or opponents will not be taken into consid- 
eration. 

Let us assume that you are the original leader, A, 
and that you hold three indifferent trumps, four small 
spades, two medium diamonds, and that the clubs are 
distributed as in this diagram : 



No. 1. 



+ 


* 




* 
* 






* 
* 


* * 

* * 



4- * 

4. 

4. 4. 
4» 



4° 4» 

4» 
4, 4. 

* * 



B 




* * * * 





A 




* 


* 










4» 


a 


4* . 4» 

4. ' 4. 

*** 


4. 
4. 

_*_ 





32 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

According to the tenets of the long-suit game, you 
must lead a club. If you do, you are sure to lose a 
trick, perhaps more, no matter which you lead. You 
lead the 3 ; Y plays the 4 ; B the 7 ; Z wins with the 
9, and opens another suit. When you get into the 
lead again, if you lead the ace, Y and B play small, 
and Z drops the 2, leaving him not only in command 
of the suit with the king, but with tenace over you. If 
your second lead is not the ace, Z wins whatever you 
play, and you have lost two tricks ; the ace being your 
only hope for a trick in the suit. 

Had you led the higher of your two diamonds, and 
waited until some other player was forced to open the 
club suit, you must have won two tricks. If, after 
winning the first, you continued the diamonds, and 
waited for clubs to be led again, you might have made 
three tricks, or even four, in the club suit. 

Suppose the lead finally comes from Y, who begins 
with the 6 ; whatever Z plays you win, and then you 
lead some other suit. Every time clubs are led, you lie 
tenace over anything Z plays. The result would be 
the same if any other player opened the suit ; you take 
every trick, no matter who leads clubs, provided you 
abstain from leading them yourself. 

The principle set forth in this illustration applies to 
all stages of the play, and to any rank of the cards 
when you can place them with sufficient certainty to 
know that you lie tenace. 

Suppose you are. Y on the first trick, and hold 
these clubs : 



TKNACE. 



33 




4. * 
*** 



The play on the first two tricks is : 



Trick 



K I. 

B 


Trick 2. 


B . 








* 








4.** 




* 
* 




4* 4* 






Z Y 


-_>'\;D,' ,", 






4. 4> 

4. 4. 
«8» * 














* 

A 






A 





If A's second lead is his original fourth-best, you 
know there are two higher clubs still in his hand, and 
that they are the J and 8 ; because all others above the 
seven have been played, or are held by you There- 
fore you hold tenace over A in clubs, and you should 
be on the alert to profit by it. 

Suppose you hold these clubs second hand : 



*m 4 


4. 




f^'-T'"'' 


* 


4 * 


III 


* 

* 





4. 4. 



4. 4. 



The first two tricks are ; — 



34 

Trick 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

Trick 2. 







* 












•!• + 

*** 
4. 4. 




* 
* 
* 






4. 4. 


Z Y 


4. 4- 






*M> 
















* * 
* 




* * 


* 
* 


mm 













In this case A's original lead is his fourth-best, and 
you know he holds three cards higher than the 5. The 
fall and your own hand tell you these cards are the J 7 
6. Therefor your Q 10 are tenace over his J 7. 

When a tenace is thus established by the fall of the 
cards, you should be prepared to take advantage of it, 
but it does not always follow that you can do so. You 
may get into the lead toward the end of the hand when 
the trumps are out, but see no hope that your tenace 
will be led up to. In the illustrations, B and Z are 
both void of the suit, and A may not get into the lead 
again. In such circumstances, it might be better to 
make sure of a trick with the club king in diagram 1 , 
or the club queen in diagram 2 , instead of running the 
risk of getting none in the effort to make two. Deci- 
sions in such cases must be based on the previous fall 
of the cards, and much must be left to the discretion of 
the player ; but it can be taken as a pretty safe rule 
that with a tenace of this description you are not apt to 



TKNACK. 35 

lose in the long run by waiting to have the suit led, 
instead of leading it yourself. Still, the reader must 
not forget that a tenace that is only developed on the 
second round is not so valuable as one in hand before 
the suit is opened. When there is no hope of getting 
the tenace led up to, the one trick that the master card 
assures should be made at once. This point of pausing 
to consider the position, and to decide between the 
probabilities for and against leading from this variety 
of tenace, has been quite overlooked by most of the 
standard writers on whist. 

As the cards lie in diagram i , your gain is certain as 
long as you do not lead the suit yourself. Even if the 
minor tenace was not in one hand, no matter how the 
cards composing it were distributed, no possible loss, 
bar trumping, could result from waiting for some other 
player to open the suit. 

Let us suppose the minor tenace in the first illustra- 
tion to be on your left. This is a very different, and 
for you, less desirable state of affairs. It is an easy 
matter to hold tenace over your right-hand adversary; 
all that is needful being to refrain from leading the suit 
yourself ; but to hold it effectually over the enemy on 
your left is beyond }^our individual control. You may 
refuse to lead the suit yourself, but if your partner or 
your right-hand adversary does so, you are immediately 
placed at a disadvantage, and the full possibility of your 
holding in that suit cannot be realized, for you can only 
count on one trick with certainty, — the ace. This 
would be the position : 



36 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



No. 2. 



* 

**** 




* * 



* * 

4» * 



B 





4 


t 




* 


i 


* * * 

*** 

*** 


* 



* 
* 


* 
* 


* 




*• 


* 


* 

* 



* 



If you are A, the only reasonable chance of securing 
more than one trick in the suit is that Y will open it. This 
will give you two tricks at least. That you will win all 
the tricks is out of the question, but with a little patience 
it is highly probable that you will win two. It is more 
than probable that Y will lead the suit, as he is the only 
player with sufficient strength in it to do so. 

The reader will perceive that in general he is advised 
to avoid leading suits that contain tenaces, unless the 
suit is so long, seven or more cards, as to render it 
unlikely that the minor tenace is against you, as well as 
probable that the suit will be trumped on the second 
round. If, for instance, you have major tenace at the 



TENACK. 37 

head of a suit of eight cards, there are only five cards 
among the three other players, which does not admit 
of their having two apiece, and makes the odds very 
much against either of your opponents holding the 
minor tenace. It is also apparent that the suit will be 
trumped on the second round at the latest. In such a case 
I would lead the ace to show partner my suit, with the 
chance of catching the king and establishing the suit 
at once. If I was so fortunate, I should lead trumps 
if I had a card of re-entry in another suit. 

Your hand may be such that your only available lead 
is fiom a suit of four, five, or six cards containing a 
tenace, and for all you know to the contrary, your 
partner may hold one of the minor tenace cards. With 
Ihe four-card suit, the conventional play would be the 
smallest, which is all right ; but with five or six cards 
you should depart from the established rule, which is to 
lead the ace, playing your fourth-best instead, so as to 
avoid promoting the minor tenace if it should chance 
to lie with the adversary. I have already spoken of 
the conversion of the minor into the major tenace by 
playing the master card, and you should be on your 
guard against so promoting it, not only when you are 
the original leader, but when the fall of the cards shows 
that one of your opponents holds the second and fourth- 
best of the suit. In such a case you win a trick by 
leading the best card, it is true, but you also exchange 
positions with your opponent, which may cost you two 
tricks in the end. 

Let us suppose you are A in the following diagram : 



38 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



No. 3. 



* 4- 

+** 

4- 4- 


4. 4. 

4- 

4, 4, 




You lead the 2, Y plays the 4, B the 9, Z the 3. B 
opens his own suit, and we will suppose you regain the 
lead. This position is an exception to the conventional 
rule for playing the best card on the second round if 
you hold it. If you lead the ace you at once promote 
the minor tenace, which is marked in Y's hand. B 
cannot have held either king or jack and played the 9, 
and Z would not allow the 9 to win if he held either of 
those cards, so they must both be with Y. If you play 
ace, Y plays the 6, and his K J becomes major tenace 
over your Q 10, giving him the last two tricks in the 
suit. Your second lead should be the 10, which Y will 
of course win with the jack, but your tenace is pre- 
served, and if he is compelled to lead the suit you win 
the last two tricks. 



TENAC3. 



39 



Take another case. You are A in this illustration, 
and have exhausted the trumps, remaining with the 
lead. 

No. 4. 



4-^* 





Y 


B 

A 


Z 








* 4- * 


L .J 


****! 
* * 


A' 4«| 






* * 


*** +! 






grffiW-x J 


-*— -X— -5* 




*?• 


* * * 

i 


!* 4° + 













■"IffiJ 
You lead the Q, Y plays the 2, B the 8. 



4- * 



Z the 3. 

You continue with the K, Y plays J, B renounces, Z 
drops the 5. If you go on with the ace you lose a 
trick, for you should realize at once that Z holds minor 
tenace, 10 7 to your A 9. If you play the ace, Z will 
drop the 6, and lie tenace over you, winning the last 
two tricks in the suit. But if you lead the 4, Z will be 
forced to take it, and you will lie tenace over him, win- 
ning the last two tricks in the suit. 

This promotion of the minor tenace is a point often 
overlooked by players who carefully preserve their ten- 
aces up to a certain point. They avoid leading from 



4Q 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



tenace suits, but if forced to do so play their highest 
card, when a low card would be the proper lead. 

Another point suggests itself that is frequently 
missed by players of more than average ability, and 
which none of the standard writers that I have studied 
have more than touched upon, and that is the location 
of tenaces by the drop. 

In diagram 3 we saw how A was able to locate the 
minor tenace in Y's hand. There are many cases in 
which the fourth hand is put in possession of informa- 
tion as to the location of tenaces. 

Suppose you are Z in this diagram : 

No. 5. - 



4. 4. 
*.* 
*** 
4. 4. 


4. * 

4. 4. 

4. 


1*'.* 

4» 

4. 4. 

4. 4. 



4; 4m 4; 4; 

•I* 4* 4< 4 1 



Y 


B 
A 


Z 




* * * * 
* > 








4. 4, 


* 


4. * 




*_* 




4. 4. 


4. 4. 




4, 4. 


* 



TKNAC3. 4 1 

A leads the 2, Y plays the 4, B the 7, you the 10. 
This situation often arises, but too many players in Z's 
place, on winning with the 10, content themselves by 
remarking that it is a cheap trick, and with only a 
vague impression that B is weak in that suit, turn their 
attention to opening a fresh suit. A moment's atten- 
tion to the fall of the cards and his own hand should 
show Z that the four honors are divided between A 
and Y, and in the relation of major and minor tenace. 
This will become evident if the cards are placed. 

A cannot have ace and king, or he would have led 
one of them ; nor can he have ace, queen, jack ; or 
king, queen, jack ; or king and queen. He might 
have queen and jack, but in that event Y must have 
ace and king, and would have played one second-hand. 
If A holds ace, jack and two others, Y must have king 
and queen, and would have played one of them. If A 
held ace and three small, Y must have held king, 
queen, jack, and would have played one of them. All 
this goes to show that the only honors A can have 
held when he led the 2, were the ace and queen, or the 
king and jack ; and whichever combination he held, Y 
must have held the other, since neither B nor Z hold 
any card higher than the 10. 

Most writers on whist discuss this situation so far, 
and then leave it. Foster, in his usual concise and 
comprehensive way of stating a rule in easily remem- 
bered words, says : "If neither third nor fourth hand 
has an honor in the suit led, the major and minor ten- 
aces are divided between the first and second players." 



42 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



He then gives an example showing that if neither 
third nor fourth hand has a card above the 9, the 10 is 
the key to the position of the major tenace, showing A Q 
10 must be with the leader, and K J with the second hand. 
An examination of the position will show that this 
must be so. If A holds king, jack, ten, deuce, and 
follows the usual fashion, he will lead the ten, although 
many players now lead the fourth-best from this com- 
bination. If he holds king, jack, and two small cards, 
Y having ace, queen, ten, and another, Y's play is a 
high card second hand. Y will also play a high card 
second hand if he holds either king, jack, ten, or ace, 
queen, jack. So if the fourth hand wins with the 9, the 
five honors can be distributed only as in the following 
diagram ; 



No. 6 



++* 

4» 4» 

4* 
4-4- 



4- 



4, * 
* * 


B 
Y Z 

A 








* * 
* 

* * 


* .j. .j. £> 
* 

"?• "J* *i* **• 








1 _ I 






581111 






*_J 



TENACE. 43 

If Z knows that A holds the major tenace, what use 
should he make of his knowledge? Obviously, he 
should at once return the opponent's lead, unless he is 
Jong in the suit himself. 

If Z has any doubt as to the location of the major 
tenace, as in diagram 5, and it should turn out that Y 
has it, Z is still making the best lead possible for his 
partner's hand ; while if it is with A, as in diagram 6, 
the immediate return of the suit brings about the situ- 
ation discussed some pages back, when it was shown 
that with the minor tenace on the left, the major was 
placed at a disadvantage. If Z returns the suit at once, 
he forces A to give up the ace and the command, or to 
sacrifice his queen to Y's king. 

If Z is unable to win the first trick, B capturing it 
with a 9 or 10, there is no certainty about the division 
of the tenaces, for B may have played in from a se- 
quence. But when the fourth hand wins the trick, and 
holds no card higher than the 10, he knows the ten- 
aces are divided between first and second players ; 
and if he holds nothing higher than the 9, and wins 
the trick, he knows the leader has the double major 
tenace, and that second hand has king jack. In either 
case his duty is to return the lead at once, unless he is 
so long in the suit that B might trump. 

From the foregoing we gather the following rule : 
When the fourth player wins the first round 
of a suit in which he holds no honor, he 
should return the lead at once. 

This is an opportunity that frequently presents itself 



44 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

to the wide-awake player, and if you will commit this 
rule to memory and put it in practice when next you 
play duplicate whist, it will not be the fault of that 
play if you do not gain on the board. 

Of course, it is understood that undue precedence 
should not be given to this return lead if there is some- 
thing clearly better in your hand. But the position 
should be noted, and advantage taken of it later in the 
hand. Unless it is very plain that you have a better 
game, I should advise the immediate return of the suit, 
for you must remember that in order to derive the full 
benefit from the situation, you may have to return the 
suit a second time. If you do not avail yourself of the 
first opportunity, you may not be able to get into the 
lead again ; or your right-hand adversary may discard 
the suit in the meantime, and trump it when you re- 
turn it. 

As an objection to this rule it may be urged that the 
immediate return of an opponent's suit is often taken 
by the partner as an invitation to a force. But the 
tenace in your partner's hand, and the fall of the cards 
to the first trick should tell him the object of the 
return, and he will not necessarily force you, unless 
with the direct object of getting you to over-trump B. 

If a player avoids leading from suits containing any 
form of the major or minor ten aces, he should be pre- 
pared to follow the same course with all suits that 
contain what might be termed vice-tenaces. These 
may be defined as combinations of cards that will be- 
come tenaces if certain cards fall on the first round of 



TKNACE. 



45 



the suit. To this family belong all such combinations 
as A J+, A io+, etc. If the player has a passably 
good lead in any other suit, such combinations should 
be avoided. 

Let us suppose you are A in the following diagram : 



No. 7. 



I* ± 

* * * 

* * * 



4. * 



B 






* 

•5» •?■ 



4. * * * 



iV T* T* 
+ * * 



* 



If you lead the 5 from this suit, Y will play the 4, 
B the 3, and Z the 7. If you lead the A on the second 
round, you will win the trick, but Z will hold tenace with 
his K 10 over your J 9. If your partner gets in before 
you do, and returns the suit, you will have to put up 
the ace to shut out the queen, leaving Z with tenace 
over you as before. 

Qn the other hand, if you wait until Z leads the suit, 



4 6 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



he will begin with the 2, and his partner will win with 
the queen, leaving you with the double major tenaee 
over the original leader, which must make the three 
remaining tricks in the suit, bar trumping, no matter 
who leads it, so that you avoid doing so. 

Trump tenaces are the most valuable, because if you 
play properly you are sure of realizing all the advan- 
tages of such combinations. Suppose trumps to be 
your only four-card suit, and that you are A in the 
following diagram : 



No. 8. 




B 



[<?. <3 <3 <3l 
|<3 <3 <3 <3| 



i« 


<3 


<3 


l<3 


<3 


<i\ 








<3 



<? 9? 



9? 9? 
9? 

V 9? 



9? 9? 

9? 

9? 9? 



If you open the trump suit with the 5, Z will win 
your partner's queen. If you lead the ace on recover- 
ing the lead, or if your partner returns the suit and 



TBNACK. 47 

forces you to play the ace to shut out the jack, you will 
find tenace against you, and any other trick in the suit 
impossible. 

If you wait, and any other player leads trumps, you 
and your partner take every trick in the trump suit. 
If you signal, your partner will lead the queen ; if Z 
signals his partner will lead the jack, which your 
partner will cover ; if Z leads trumps, your partner's 
queen will win the first round, and leave you with the 
major tenace. 

With the cards divided as in this diagram, nothing 
can prevent your winning every trick in trumps, pro- 
vided you do not lead them yourself. It furnishes an 
excellent example of the difference between playing 
your trumps simply as so many abstractors of other 
trumps, and using them to make tricks in themselves. 
If A, in this illustration, had led trumps to defend an 
established suit, as so many do, he would have lost 
three tricks in the trump suit alone ; a loss that it 
would be very difficult to offset by the problematical 
bringing in of a long suit, the higher cards of which 
would probably win in any case. 

I do not advise holding back a suit headed by A J, 
or A 10, when there is no other available lead. A player 
is not expected to follow any rule to the detriment of 
his hand ; but if he has some other fairly good lead, I 
think he should regard such combinations as A J, A 
10, as belonging to the tenace family, and to be played 
as such. Even if these do not develop into regular 
tenaces, the player holding them back will probably get 



48 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

more for his money, so to speak, by waiting than by 
leading them. If you lead a small card from either of 
these combinations, the trick may be won fourth- hand 
by a 6 or a 7. If you begin with the ace, you catch 
nothing but small cards. If you wait to have the suit 
led up to you, you either win with the jack or ten, or 
capture a king or queen with your ace. In either case 
the ace wins a trick ; but if it is led, advantage is not 
taken of its full capacity, and its strength is expended 
on capturing deuces and treys. If it is led up to, you 
get the full benefit of its trick-making ability, at the 
same time capturing an honor, the loss of which may 
be deeply felt by the enemy. 

The same argument applies, with limitations, to suits 
headed by ace, king, j ack. If the suit is long, the king 
must be led ; but if it contains only these three honors, 
by all means wait. If you lead, the odds are against 
your making more than two tricks. If the lead comes 
from your left, you are sure of three, because you lie 
tenace over the queen. 

Of course the reader understands that he must not 
expect to find in every hand such distributions of the 
cards as are given in these diagrams. The principle is 
the point, and the knowledge to take advantage of such 
and similar situations when they do occur. 

The use or neglect of tenace presents many more op- 
portunities for loss or gain than would be imagined by 
a player who had never given the subject much atten- 
tion. Promptly recognizing and taking advantage of 
such opportunities when they occur will often cause 



TENACK. 49 

your opponents to remark: "Well, I cannot under- 
stand how we lost on that board ; for I am sure I do 
not see where we made any mistakes. ' ' That is just it. 
They do not see the mistake. They make no striking 
blunders, but they fail to make the most of their 
hands. 

When you have a suit containing the minor tenace, 
king, and jack, it is even more important that you 
should have it led up to, instead of leading away from 
it, than it would be if it were the major tenace, ace 
queen. The major tenace insures at least a trick, but 
the minor tenace, if led away from, may not win a 
trick in the suit. If the minor tenace is led up to it 
will probably be good for two tricks, and it is certainly 
good for one, bar trumping. As there is more chance 
of loss with the minor tenace than with the major, it is 
proportionately more important that it should be led up 
to, and not away from. 

If the player on your left leads up to the major ten- 
ace in your hand, and you win with the queen, you are 
left in command with the ace, and can make it at once, 
or hold it up, as you see fit. Similarly, if you win with 
ace over the king, and are left in command with the 
queen. But with the minor tenace, even if you win 
the first trick, you are not left in command. If third 
hand plays 9 or 10, and you win with the jack, ace 
queen are out over your king and others. If third- 
hand plays queen, and you win with the king, the ace 
ten are out against you. Your first consideration must 
be to prevent these two cards from making against you, 



5° 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



and this you- can often accomplish by returning the lead 
at once with a small card. If the original leader has 
the ace he will probably put it on ; but if you allow the 
suit to be led through you, you may lose your king if 
the player on your left has a good finesse, or if his 
partner leads him a finessing card. This gives us a 
general rule that 

When fourth-hand wins the first round 
of a suit in which he holds minor tenace, 
he should at once return the lead with his 
smallest card, 

L,et us suppose that you are Z and hold these trumps : 




v ^ 
<? 

9 <? 



If the cards fall in either of these ways on trick i, 
your play would be to return the heart 3 at once. 

No. 9. 



<v> <? 



<? V 






V 


"<? 


<? 


<? 


<s?_ 


<? 



<v> 9 



<? <? 



F 


~v 


V 


q? 


V 


9? 



TKNACB. 51 

Although the trump suit is used in this example, the 
reader must remember that it will sometimes be unwise 
to return an adverse trump lead. In plain suits the 
return may be regarded as imperative. 

What I have written in this chapter should be enough 
to impress the student with the importance of playing 
tenaces to the best advantage. Constant practice and 
observation will improve his tenace play, and we may 
now turn our attention to finesse, which is very closely 
allied to tenace, as it depends for its success on the same 
principle of taking advantage of the position of the 
cards. 



FINESSE. 



Hamilton defines finesse as ' ' any form of strategy, 
underplay, or artifice." Upon this liberal definition 
many thousand pages might be written ; but with us 
an outline of the principal features of finesse, as it is 
generally understood, will suffice. 

" G. W. P.," in his "American Whist Illustrated," 
tells us that there are several varieties of finesse : The 
returned finesse ; the finesse by trial ; the finesse on 
the partner ; and the finesse by speculation. These 
are nice distinctions that are very interesting to the 
deep student, but of little value to the ordinary player. 
The varieties of strategy to which the term ' ' finesse ' ' 
is usually applied will be found to be covered by this 
definition : 

Any effort to make a subordinate card ac- 
complish as much as a higher ; is a finesse. 

A pla}^er may make this effort in various wa3 T s, as 
for instance : By playing, as second or third hand, the 
lower of two high cards not in sequence, in the hope 
that no intermediate card lies with the opponent who 
has 3 T et to play. By passing, instead of playing his 
best card third hand on a medium high card led by his 
partner. By adopting either of these methods, not 
with much hope of winning the trick, but in the ex- 



FINESSE. 



53 



peculation that in order to secure the trick, the adver- 
sary will have to play a higher card than any held by 
the player who finesses. By adopting any of the fore- 
going when the player knows he will lose the trick, 
but can reasonably count on forcing a disproportion- 
ately high card from the adversary. 

These may be briefly reviewed, with examples. You 
are B in the following diagram, with these cards : 



* 



4. 4. 



The first trick is : 
No. 10. 



Your play is the queen, not the ace, which is a 
finesse against the king being in Z's hand, the odds 
against which are 2 to 1 , as either A or Y may have it. 
This is the simplest form of the finesse, and is so gen- 
erally recommended and followed that it has become an 
imperative rule of play for the third hand. 



54 SHORT -SUIT WHIST. 

You are Y and hold these cards : 



4» 

* 4» 

4- 4- 



4* 4» 
4- 4- 



* 4* 



4- 4- 



The first trick is 



No. ii. 







4« 4* 








4» 




*jfj 




4- 4- 




4» 








t&mm 




4- 




* 




_*_ 








A 







Your finesse is the queen, in the hope that the king 
may be with the leader, or with your partner. 
You are B and hold : 



4- 


4-a 
4* 

4- * 

4* 
±1± 


4« 4- 

4* 
4- 4- 



FINESSE. 



55 



The first trick is : 



No. 12. 





* 4* 
4- 






4« 4* 
4- * 
4» 4- 




4» 4» 




4* 
4- 




§H 



Instead of playing your best, you pass the card led 
by your partner, in the hope that it may win the trick. 
The situation is almost the same as if you held both 
ace and queen yourself, and played the queen, but the 
odds in favor of its success are not so great, as the 
leader cannot have the king. 

You are B and hold : 



4* v 4* 



56 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

The first trick is : 



No. 13. 







B 

IT 






*** 

* * 






4. 4. 

* 
4. 4. 


ill 
A 









You pass your partner's jack, in the hope that the 
queen is on your right. This finesse is not usually 
considered sound unless you are strong in trumps, for 
you run the risk of an unguarded queen taking a trick 
in a suit in which you have both ace and king. 

You are B and hold : 




* 

4» *i l * 



FINESSE. 



57 



The first trick is : 



No, 14. 







* 
* 
4- 






4. A, 

■5- * 
4. 4. 






* 























111 this case there is no hope that the jack led will 
win the trick, for the ace must be on your left ; but 
there is a finesse against both ace and queen being in 
one hand. By passing the jack, it may force the ace, 
and leave you with tenace over the queen in Y's hand. 

What appears to be a very risky or deep finesse is 
sometimes called for by the condition of your hand, 
which is the only guide after all. Suppose you hold 
tenace in spades and diamonds, and in hearts only the 
king and deuce. If your partner leads clubs, and you 
hold ace ten and others, you may finesse the ten on the 
first trick, thus :— 



58 
No. 15. 



SHORTSSUI? WHIST. 



B 



4. 4. 
4. 4. 
4. 4» 



4^* 

4» ' 4» 



4« * 

* 
4» * 



If the fourth hand wins the trick he must lead up to 
your guarded king of trumps, or to your tenaces in 
the other suits. 

The obligatory finesse is usually the most puzzling to 
the beginner. You are A and hold : — 



4* • 4» 
4» A 4» 

4»*4- 


4» 

4. 4. 

4» 4- 



4« * 

* 
4- 4- 



The first two tricks are as follow : — 

No. 16. 



4» + 



4« 4» 
4- 

*_* 
A 



4. 4. 
4. 4, 
4» 4* 




4« * 

*a* 
*** 

4» 4- 


4.** 

*** 







FINESSE. 



59 



The mere fact of your partner's queen winning the 
first trick shows Z has not the ace, and your partner's 
return of the six shows he does not hold it ; so it must 
be with Y. You finesse the ten, in the hope that Y has 
not the jack also. In this case you have no hope of 
winning the trick, but trust to the ten to bring down 
the ace, leaving you in command with the king. If Y 
has both ace and jack, it does not matter what you 
play ; but if you play your king, you are certain to 
lose, no matter how the cards lie. 

Suppose you are A and hold : — 



*** 
*** 

*** 
*** 


* * 

* * 
4. * 



4. 4* 



* * 



The first two tricks are : — 

No. 17. 

B 



4. 4. 



* 

4. 4. 





* * 
*** 






i'jfii 




* * 




*** 

4, 4. 
4^4. 


• 'V 










4, 4. 
4. 4. 
4. 4, 





Your partner's 9 is evidently the higher of two 
cards, the 9 and 3. The king must be with Y, for Z 



6o 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



would have played the best card on the second round 
if he held it. By passing the 9, you finesse against the 
king and jack being both in Y's hand ; just as you 
finessed against A J. 

There is another variety of this finesse, in which you 
cannot so positively mark the high card in fourth hand 
but know it is better than any you hold. 

You are B and hold : 






* * * * 

V j* *I * 4* 



The first trick is : — 
No. 18. 







4. 4. 


* * 




4, 4. 


* 

4. 4. 


4. 4T 






4» 
4. 4. 

4, 4. 



If the 7 is your partner's fourth-best, he must have 
three higher cards in his hand, but he has not both ace 
and king. As you have neither of these cards, it must 
be one of them that is against him. You know there 
is no other high card against him, and if Y holds it 
the 7 will win the trick ; if Z holds it, he will have 
to play it, so you can safely pass. 



FINKSSE. 6 1 

This is generally known as finessing by the eleven 
rule, and is given in " Foster's Whist Manual." The 
principle is that if the spots on the card led are de- 
ducted from eleven, the remainder is the number of 
cards, higher than the one led, out against the leader. 
In this example the 7 led shows four only against your 
partner, of which you hold three, and the one other 
must be the ace or the king. 

Except in such cases as the foregoing, all finesses are 
problematical, and success depends largely upon the 
situation at the moment, and the judgment of the 
player. For this reason most of our whist authorities 
recommend but two forms of the finesse : That of the 
queen from ace queen in any suit ; and the finesse of 
the trump jack when holding ace king jack and others. 
The latter is usually resorted to only when the player 
holding this combination has led, and then changed to 
a plain suit, so as to finesse on his partner's return of 
the trump. The same manoeuvre may be used in plain 
suits, if strong in trumps. 

There is one exception to the first finesse, which is 
when the third hand holds ace queen alone. It is usual 
to play the ace, and it is imperative on the lead of a 
ten. The object is to avoid blocking the suit. As a 
general rule- finessing on your partner's suit is consid- 
ered bad play in the long-suit game, because he wants 
all the high cards out of his way as soon as possible. 
But even at the risk of delaying the establishment of a 
suit, I think the practice of finessing might be advan- 
tageously carried much further than it is at present. 



62 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

In the short-suit game, finessing on partner's lead 
is one of the principal features, because he more fre- 
quently leads from weakness than from strength. If he 
leads the highest card of a weak suit, you give it a 
clear path, to accomplish what it can, retaining any 
higher cards you may hold in the suit, in the hope that 
they may win tricks later on. Just what cards should 
be passed in this manner will be considered when we 
come to the practical playing of the short-suit game. 

To the ambitious student I may repeat the advice 
given in connection with tenace. Practice continually, 
and note carefully in actual play the instances of loss 
or gain that occur from finessing. The gain of a point 
or two in every third or fourth hand in an evening's 
play at duplicate whist is not an unreasonable expecta- 
tion, if the adversaries are orthodox long-suit players. 
Little more will be required than an occasional judi- 
cious finesse of partner's moderately high cards, orig- 
inally led. 

The student should bear in mind, as a good standard 
to go by, that whenever the success of a finesse means 
the gain of several tricks, and its failure the loss of only 
one, the finesse should be made ; but if the loss may 
outweigh the gain, it should not be attempted. Never 
forget how much depends on the cards in your hand at 
the time, and on those that have fallen. If a finesse, 
even if unsuccessful, will place the lead to your advan- 
tage, make it by all means. And last of all ; if you 
consider yourself a lucky man, finesse boldly ; if you 
are a ' ' Jonah ' ' you must be more careful. 



CROSS-R UFFING. 



The third especial reliance of the short-suit player, 
cross-ruffing, although the least important, is at times 
the most effective. A cross-ruff is established when 
you and your partner are each void of a different suit, 
and you lead such suits to each other to trump. Under 
such circumstances the adversaries are usually power- 
less to help themselves until they can over-trump and, 
if strong enough, exhaust the remaining trumps. In 
the meantime the cross-ruffers have used their small 
trumps to the utmost advantage, since they could not 
be spent more economically than one at a time, nor 
more advantageously than upon the enemy's master 
cards. 

This method of trick-making is so fascinating to 
some players that they try for it from the start. But 
it is far too adventitious to be brought about by sys- 
tematic play ; the most a player can do is to seize such 
opportunities as offer during the regular course of 
play. The short-suit game, however, from the very 
nature of its original lead, constantly tends to cross- 
ruffing. 

It is difficult to give definite directions for cross- 
ruffing. The player can only watch the fall of the 



6 4 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



cards, and if he has a singleton, be on the alert for any 
indications that his partner is void of some other suit. 
Kven then he may not establish the cross-ruff, but he 
has good grounds for attempting it. 
Suppose you are Y and hold : 



The first trick is : 
No. 19. 



4. A 
A. A 
*** 

A A 


A * 
A 

A A 


A 
A 



Wm 




*A* 
A*A 

+ jl* 
A*A 


A A 
A A 







Leaving out of consideration the trump signal, which 
renders all inference uncertain, your partner, Z, has 
no more of the suit. B will probably not return it, and 
should you get into the lead and find yourself with a 
singleton in another suit, it will be better for you to 
lead that first, in order to establish a cross-ruff. 

Suppose you are A and hold : 




A . A 

A 4 A 

A*A 



CROSS-RUFFING. 



65 



The first trick is : 
No, 20. 





* * 

*** 

♦ 4* 












* 


4. * 4. 

*.* 
*** 



Your partner, B, has evidently no more of the suit, 
but you should not force him if you have a singleton in 
another suit to lead, for that may establish a cross-ruff. 

I am well aware that this advice to lead singletons, 
even with a cross-ruff in view, is apt to meet with 
emphatic protest from staunch long-suiters ; but I do 
not believe such strong objections would be made if 
they gave the subject more attention. I think this at- 
tention might be granted, but for the odium that 
attaches to leading a "sneak." The name has killed 
the play, like the dog that was hung. Had the proper 
title of ' ' singleton ' ' always been applied to the one- 
card lead, I am positive it would never have acquired 
such disfavor. In these Jin de Steele day?, I am san- 
guine enough to believe that the time is not far distant 
when a player will lead a singleton deuce from a ruff- 
ing hand as readily as he now leads a trump from A K 
Q J 10. The object of all whist play is to win the 
game, and if a singleton lead appears to be the most 



66 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



likely way, it should be adopted, despite the fa<5t that 
G. W. P. tells us : " The result is nothing, the proper 
management of the cards everything ; " as if it were 
possible to divorce the one from the other. 

As an example of playing for a cross-ruff, let us take 
a hand I once held at duplicate whist. I was the 
dealer, hearts trumps, and held these cards : 



* •?• 



v 

* * 


^ 9? 
VjT * 


I*""* 



* * 

♦> 
*1* 


* * 

* * 


4. * 
* * 


* 

* 



The first two tricks were 

No. 21. 

15 




CROSS-RUFFING. 67 

The fall of the cards marks B with the jack or no 
more clubs; and Y as void of spades. For the third 
trick I submit that the singleton diamond is Z's best 
lead, for in that suit alone is it possible for Y to win a 
trick, and if he returns a small diamond, the cross-ruff 
in diamonds and. spades is established. 

Unfortunately, the player who held my cards on the 
original play did not remember just how he had played 
it ; but as he had been taught to eschew ' ' sneak ' ' 
leads it is almost certain that he led the small club at 
the third trick. I led the diamond 8, Y won with the 
ace, the cross-ruff followed as I expected, and. we gained, 
three tricks on the board. 

It is only by means of singleton leads that any effort 
can be made to get a cross-ruff going ; but such leads 
have been so roundly abused by most of the writers on 
whist that it would be a rash apprentice who would lift 
his feeble voice in opposition to the masters. Still I 
cannot refrain from placing on record a "sneaking " 
whisper in favor of the singleton lead, when the occa- 
sion seems to favor its success in establishing a cross- 
ruff. 

The usual objections to the singleton are: 1. That 
it deceives the partner, who cannot tell a singleton from 
a strong suit. 2. That it exposes your own weakness. 
3. That it may establish the suit in the hands of your 
adversaries. 

If your partner is a good short-suit pla3^er, and 
knows you to be one, he will not often be deceived to 
his hurt. The more the adversaries are deceived the 



68 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

better, whatever the modern school of American lead- 
ers may preach to the contrary, and urge in favor ol 
publishing general information. Kven if your partner 
misunderstands your lead and returns it under the im- 
pression that it is your long-suit, your objecl: is accom- 
plished, and you get the ruff. The great danger is that 
he will lead trumps. 

With regard to exposing your weakness, the adver- 
saries must be very strong to profit much by the know- 
ledge of your weakness in a single suit. 

As to the danger of establishing the suit in the hands 
of the adversaries, your partner's possibilities reduce 
this danger one-third, and if the singleton is never led 
without some trump strength to back it up, there should 
be no objection to the adversaries having an established 
suit, provided you are prepared to trump it every time 
it is led. I do not recommend the original lead of a 
singleton without some strength in trumps ; but later 
in the hand the lead of such a card may be the only 
chance, regardless of the trump strength, as in diagram 
No 21. If your opponents are very strong in trumps 
they will probably lead them, whether you have begun 
with a singleton or not ; but if you can get in a small 
trump before this happens,. it may gain a point other- 
wise impossible. 

After carefully studying the subject from every point 
of view, I cannot see how the lead of a singleton can 
work damage in the long run, if it is always accom- 
panied by moderate strength in trumps, such as four 
fairly good ones. In making this assertion I do not 



CROSS-RUFFING. 69 

wish to be understood as championing the hap-hazard 
leading of singletons merely to make one or two little 
trumps. I urge it only when you have strength in 
trumps, or see a clear chance for a cross-ruff, or in 
preference to leading from suits of not more than four 
cards, headed by a tenace. 

The lead must be governed by the hand before you 
at the moment, or by the fall of the cards. When you 
can make some other lead only by breaking tenace 
suits, or when you see a probability of a cross-ruff, do 
not be afraid of leading a singleton, if you have one, 
simply because anathema maranatha has hitherto been 
thundered upon its devoted head. 

Dashing, eccentric play, by itself, is sure to be defeated 
by orthodox conventionality; but if boldness is sup- 
ported by a knowledge of the game , it will win against 
cautious science every time. Place at a table four 
players of equal theoretical skill, and the bolder, more 
self-reliant, less hampered-by-rule-when-the-situation- 
shows-that-to-follow-rule-will-be-ruinous pair of the 
two will invariably carry off the victory. 



CONVENTIONAL LEADS. 



By taking the conventional long-suit leads as a stan- 
dard we are enabled to detect the short-suit leads by the 
difference between the two. If, as your partner, I lead 
a card that by general consent is led only when ac- 
companied by a certain other card, and you know that 
I do not hold that other card, you also know that I 
have not made a conventional lead. This is negative 
evidence that I have made a short-suit lead. 

I take it for granted that my readers are more or less 
familiar with some method of leading from long suits; 
but the ability to detect short-suit leads is so dependent 
on thoroughly understanding and following some one 
system that a brief summary of the leads upon which 
the inferences in the following pages are based is abso- 
lutely necessary. 

A schism exists among whist players on the subject 
of original leads. One party loyally sustains what are 
known as the " old-style " leads; while the other pins 
its faith to the ' ' new, " or ' 'American. ' ' Between these 
two in the abstract, it is not for me to decide. Which- 
ever way the weight of published testimony may lean, 
the more conclusive practical proofs seem to be with the 
" old-style " men. I believe that whenever the ques- 
tion has been put to a practical test, they have invari- 
ably been victorious. 



CONVENTIONAL LEADS. 7 I 

The new, or American leads, are at times wonder- 
fully effective in assisting a player to read his partner's 
hand; but there are times when they leave him utterly 
in the dark on the all-important first round, and do not 
give as much information as the old leads would under 
the same circumstances. 

The old system is especially adapted to our purpose 
on account of the definite nature of the queen lead. 
Upon this card the short-suit player relies for his most 
effective lead; but under the " American " system the 
partner can never tell with certainty from what combi- 
nation a queen is led. It may be from any one of 
four widely different holdings: A K Q x x; K Q 
x x x; Q J 10 -f ; or Q J 10 alone, and it may be im- 
possible for partner to tell which, on the first round. 

The same difficulty arises with the jack. In Amer- 
ican leads this card is lead from AK Q J x; K Q J 
x x ; and J x x. Foster suggested in Whist for 
July, 1895, that the queen should be led from the first 
of these, so that the jack might always deny the ace, 
and that has since come to be the common practice, so 
that the jack has the same meaning in both systems of 
leading. 

While the short-suit game may be effectively added 
to the repertoire of those who prefer the American 
leads, I prefer the old style, on account of its greater 
simplicity, and in the following pages all discussion and 
analysis will be based on the use of that system. 

In "Foster's Whist Manual" these leads will be 
found set forth in a brief, ingenious and attractive form, 



7 2 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



so that they fix themselves in the memory almost with- 
out effort on the student's part. As a knowledge of 
these leads is such a necessary preliminary to any ex- 
position of the short-suit game, I shall give a brief 
synopsis of them here. 

The numerals placed under the cards are to show the 
first and second leads; the latter will merely be indi- 
cated, without entering into explanations. 

THE ACM. — Holding Ace and any four, or 
more, except the King ; that is, at least five 
cards in all, you lead the Ace. 



* 


* * 

*** 

* * 


4» * 
* * 


* * 

* * 

* * 


* * 
* 

* * 



With so many of the suit you cannot run the risk of 
your adversary winning the first trick with a small 
card, and your ace being trumped on the second round. 
The ace led originally may also catch a high card in 
the enemy's hand. Your second lead is the original 
fourth-best. 

If in addition to the Ace, you hold both 
Queen and Jack, but not the King, you lead 
the Ace, irrespective of the number of cards 
in the suit. 

— * 

* 




CONVENTION AI, LEADS. 



73 



The second lead from this combination is the queen 
if there are only three or four cards in the suit; the 
Jack if there are more than four. 



£V*"'; 



* * 

4. A 
4. 4. 



To the partner, the ace shows at least five cards in 
the suit, or the presence of both queen and jack. 

Unless it is trumped, the card following it will show 
what combination the ace was led from. The lead of 
an ace always denies the king. 

THE KING. Holding the King, accom- 
panied by both the cards next in value 
above and below, or by either of them, you 
lead the King. The second lead varies with the 
combination held. 



* * 

4» «fr 


4. 4. 
4. 4. 
4. 4. 


4. 4. 

* 

4. 4. 



From this the second lead is the ace, in conformity 
with the rule to play the best card of the suit on the 
second round, if you hold it. 



74 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 







4- * * 



From this, if the king wins, the fourth-best is led 
on the second round, as partner may be counted for 
the ace. 




* * 
* 



From this the second lead is the queen. Partner 
knows you have the ace if your king wins. 







From this the Jack is led on the second round, to 
show partner it is as good as the ace, which he knows 
you have. 

Holding three honors other than the ace, but only 
four cards in suit, the kina: is led. 



CONVENTIONAL LEADS. 



75 







If the king wins, it should be followed by the jack if 
there are four cards in the suit, by the queen if there 
are only three. Many players assume partner to have 
ace, and follow the king with a small card. This is 
condemned by every writer on the game. 

If the ace wins the king, partner knows you have 
led from king, queen; or king, queen, jack. The same 
is true if he has the ace himself when you lead a king. 
If he has not the ace, the card with which you follow 
the king will tell him what combination you hold. 

The king is the most frequently led of the high 
cards; the ace next. 

We come now to the leads of the queen and jack, 
which require particular attention, since it is very im- 
portant to decide whether they are led from long or 
short suits. 

THE Q VEEN. When your suit is headed 
by the Queen and the two cards next in 
value below it, the Jack and Ten, you lead 
the Queen. 







* 



* * 



7 6 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 




4. ' 4. 
*** 


4. 4. 



4, * 



+ _* 



If the queen wins, partner should have the ace r he 
may even have both ace and king; but the king may 
be on your left and the ace beyond. In either case 
your next lead is the jack if you have only four cards 
in the suit; the ten if you have five or more. If you 
follow the queen with a small card, your partner's ace 
is forced, and if the king is in second hand, it is freed. 
If the second player held up the ace, and your partner 
has the king, your second lead makes no difference, 
but you should follow a uniform system. 

The lead of the queen shows partner both jack and 
ten, and denies both ace and king. 

THE JACK. Holding the Jack, and the 
next two cards in value above it, the King 
and Queen, with five or more in suit, you 
lead the Jack. 




4. 4. 
4, 4. 
4. 4» 



4. 4* 



CONVENTIONAL LEADS. 



77 



Whether the jack wins or loses, your second lead is 
the king, if you hold exactly five cards in the suit; the 
queen if six or more. Thejackisled from this com- 
bination instead of the king, because its numerical 
strength is such that it is important that partner should 
not block the suit. The beginner is apt to find this 
distinction a little confusing. In Foster's " Whist 
Manual," my indebtedness to which I gladly acknow- 
ledge, an ingenious method is given for remembering 
which card to lead. When you hold this particular 
combination, king-queen-jack, and just enough cards 
in the suit to spell the word K-I-N-G, you lead the 
king. When you hold enough, or more than enough 
to spell the word K-N- A-V-K you lead the knave. 





* * 

* * 

V 


E 


* * 

* * 

* * 


* * 

* * 



The lead of the jack shows the partner that you 
have both king and queen, and at least five cards in 
the suit. It absolutely denies the ace, which is im- 
portant, 



78 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



THB TBN.— Holding the minor tenace, 
King, Jack, accompanied by the Ten, you 
lead the Ten. 






*4.* 



4. * 



4. 4. 



There is so little likelihood of the ten winning, that 
the second lead must depend on the fall of the cards to 
the first round. 

This lead is gradually falling into disuse, the fourth- 
best being led from this combination. This is owing 
to the fact that the second hand holding ace, queen, 
can finesse with certainty, and that the position of the 
minor tenace is so clearly exposed to the adversaries. 

The Ten shows partner that the leader holds both 
king and jack. 



THB NINE.— The 

combinations only. 



Nine is led from two 



4. 


is 


4* . 4* 

4. * 4» 

*** 


4. 4. 
«?■ . 4» 

*** 
4. 4> 










* 


*jpfi 


*' +1 

*** 


4. 4. 
*** 
4. 4. 



If another card is added to either of these, they be- 
come ace leads, owinsr to the number in suit. 



CONVENTIONAL I^ADS. 



79 



A short-suit player avoids leading from these com- 
binations, because they contain the major and a vice- 
tenace. 

THH FOVRTH-BBST.—AU other leads 
are usually classed under one head; the lead 
of the original Fourth- best, when there is no 
high- card combination in the suit. 

For instance : — ■ 




The foregoing constitute the conventional leads in 
plain suits that are best adapted to our purpose. The 
system here given is that followed by nine-tenths of 
the general run of players, as well as by many of the 
most expert. It is of the greatest importance that 
anyone about to take up the short-suit game should 
thoroughly understand this system of leading, and 



8o 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



should practice it exclusively. Upon this condition 
depends his partner's ability to detect any departure 
from it as a short-suit lead. 

So important is this that I give in groups the vari- 
ous combinations of high cards, from which certain 
high cards should be led. The exacft denomination 
of the small cards is unimportant. 



From 




Lead the 
KING. 



From 




4* 4* 

* * 


* 


* 
* 
* 


+ 



I^ead 

the 

ACK. 



CONVENTIONAL LEADS. 



81 



From 



From 



From 




Lead the QUEEN. 



Eead the 
JACK. 



Eead the TEN. 



From 



\ 


* 


| 


* 



*** 


*** 
"5* 4» 



rJ \ 



**tl 

♦ ^ A 






Eead the NINE. 



From all other combinations lead the FOURTH- 
BEST. 

The leads from high-card combinations apply to 
three-card suits as well as to suits of four or more. If 
a suit of three cards contains no high-card combination, 
it is usual to lead the highest card, unless it is an ace, 
king, or queen. If it contains one of these cards, lead 
lowest of the suit. 

Trump J^eads, — Although short-suit leads are 
never made in trumps, the system of leading trumps 
should be thoroughly understood, as it varies some- 
what from plain-suit leads. 



82 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



With a winning sequence, the lowest of it is usually 
led, as it is needless to inform the opponents whether 
you or your partner holds the higher cards. The 
second lead is the next higher of the sequence. 




When you have only the ace and king to lead as 
winning cards, your lead must be determined by your 
object. If you want to insure two or three rounds of 
trumps, begin with the king ; otherwise you may lead 
your fourth -best, and give your partner a chance to 
win the first round. It is often an advantage to win 
the third round 3 T ourself, which you must do if you 
lead the fourth-best. 



WTK 



<? <? 




<? <? 




<? 


<? 9 










<? 9 




9 <? 




<? 



CONVENTIONAL LEADS. 



83 



The fourth-best should always be led from this 
combination : — 




9? 9? 
v 9? 



9? 9? 
9? 

9 9? 
9? 9? 



It is useless to waste your king forcing out the ace, 
because you run no risk of losing your high cards, as 
you would if this were a plain suit. 

An exception is made when you have also the ten ; 




<? 9? 
<?„9? 



Is? 9? 


9? 9? 


k? 9 




is? 9? 


9? 9? 



To prevent both ace and jack, or even ace and nine 
winning against you, it is best to lead the king. If it 
forces the ace, the fall of the cards may direct you 
whether or not to finesse against the jack. 

Another variation in the trump leads is this combi- 
nation: — 



9? 9? 



9? 97 

9?^9? 
9 9? 
9? 9? 



9? 9? 




9? 9? 


9? 9? 






9? 9? 




9? 9? 



The jack is lead from this sequence, instead of the 
fourth-best. The object is to coax second hand to 
cover, and the hope is that partner can kill the covering 



84 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

card. If this occurs, the command of the trump suit 
is left in your hands on the third round. 

From all other combinations, trumps are led the 
same as plain suits. 

In the chapter on ' ' Suggestions ' ' will be found 
some opinions of my own on the -subject of leading 
trump singletons, which would be out of place here. 

We may now turn our attention to the departures 
from the regular long-suit system of leading, and ex- 
amine in detail the S3^stem of leading from short-suits. 



SHORT- SUIT l^ ADS. 



Technically speaking, a long suit is one of four or 
more cards ; a short suit is one of three cards or less. 
From the point of view taken in these pages, a short 
suit par excellence is one of two cards only. 

We have seen that when a three-card suit contains 
one of the regular combinations, the orthodox long-suit 
lead is made. If forced to open a suit from which no 
conventional lead can be made, it should be treated as 
a short suit, and led from as such. We will first dis- 
cuss the various short-suit leads separately, and then 
give them in tabulated form. 

Ace king alone. — With these two cards it is 
evident that nothing is to be gained by leading either 
of them. As both would probably win, you would 
have to decide upon some other suit for the third 
round. It is therefore better to begin with another 
suit, keeping the ace-king suit for purposes of re-entry, 
in which capacity it may prove of inestimable value if 
you find yourself later in the hand with two or three 
cards that at the start were comparatively worthless, 
but have been established by the fall of other cards. 
Irrespective of that important consideration, it is always 
desirable to retain command of the long suits of your 
opponents as long as possible, and this ace and king 



86 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

may prove to command their suit. Hence, do not lead 
from ace-king alone. 

Ace queen alone. — These cards forming the 
major tenace, you will, of course, lead neither of them. 

Ace jack alone. — These cards, and ace ten, are 
best led up to ; so that with such combinations you 
should selecl: some other suit. If your hand is so con- 
stituted that 3^ou cannot avoid playing one of these, as 
when you hold tenace in all three of the other suits, 
lead the lower card, the jack or ten ; not the ace. 

Ace and one small. — With the ace and any 

other card from the 9 to the 2, always lead the small 
card if you must lead the suit at all. As already stated, 
it is best to keep commanding cards. If you lead the 
ace, your opponents will throw off their smallest cards ; 
but if you wait for some one else to lead the suit you 
will probably catch a king or queen, and so derive 
full benefit from the purchasing power, so to speak, of 
your ace. This last consideration I have emphasized 
time and again as the keynote of tenace. 

King queen alone. — With these, lead the king, 
for with the royal couple you can afford to force 
out the ace at the sacrifice of his majesty, since you are 
left in command with the queen as a card of re-entry, 
and at the same time have thrown the lead. 

King and one small. — With these you should 
lead some other suit in conformity with the prin- 
ciple that with the second-best only once guarded it is 
safer to let some one else lead the suit. To lead the 



SHORT-SUIT LEADS. 87 

singly guarded king is simply to bid for his destruction, 
since you expose him to the onslaught of both oppon- 
ents, either of whom may have the ace. On the con- 
trary, if your left-hand adversary opens the suit, you 
are sure of making the king, and if either of the other 
players leads the suit the danger to your king is at least 
reduced one-half. If you cannot avoid leading the 
suit, perhaps holding tenace in all the others, lead the 
smaller card, just as with ace and one small. 

In all other cases, lead the higher of two 

cards. For instance : — 

Queen and one other. — No matter what the 
lower card may be, lead the queen. 

Jack and one other — Lead the jack. 

Ten and one other. — Lead the ten. 

Nine and one other. — Lead the nine. 

Two small cards. — With any two cards lower 
than the nine, some other suit should be selected for the 
opening lead, as partner will find it very difficult to 
read the lead correctly. In desperate cases you may 
go as low as a seven, or perhaps even a six, provided 
3^ou adhere strictly to the rule of leading always the 
higher card. It is for partner's benefit that you should 
do this, for although there may seem no difference be- 
tween the lead of a six and a seven, those being the 
only cards in the suit, the lead of the higher may en- 
able him to understand the situation ; the lead of the 
lower card would render it impossible for him to do so. 



88 



SHORT-SUIl* whist. 



Rules which will often enable him to detect that these 
small cards are led from short suits will be given in the 
next chapter. 

To recapitulate : — 



Holding 



Holding 



/ 






*w 


\ 




* 


Wm 


i 














*A* 




* 








\ 








/ 



/ 




Lead some other 
suit. 



Usually, lead some 
other suit. If you 
cannot, lead the 
smaller card. 



SHORT-SUIT LEADS. 



89 



Holding 



-* 



* 4- \ 

4«*4» 

4- *] 


4* 4» 

4- * 

* * / 



Lead the small card if 
you must lead the suit. 



Holding 




Risri 


[* 4» 


r^'- f' 


4» . 4» 
*** 


'.;,'' 4' 


liillsM 


4* 4» 


PJ 


4-~# 


H 


*L_* 


4* ^**.*y 


*** 

*** 


iff 


4». 4» 




4» * 

4* • 4* 

4»*4» 



*V 



Lead the Higher of 
the two cards, if 
you must lead the 
suit. 



90 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



Holding 



1 


* 


4» • 4» 

4. '4« 
*** 


4. 4, 

*** 
4, 4, 






4» . 4» 

4. ' 4> 

*** 
4.** 


4. 4, 

* 
4. * 






4. 4. 

*** 
4, 4, 


4- 






4. 4* 

* 
* * 

*** 


4. 4. 

4. 4. 



L,ead the Higher of 
the two cards, if 
you must lead the 
suit. 



Singletons. — In considering the lead of single 
cards the ace must be left out of the question, as it is 
always best to hold it as a card of re-entry, and also 
because another suit would have to be led immediately, 
as the ace would almost invariably win the trick. The 
chance of catching a king or queen by waiting is an- 
other consideration. The king, as a general rule, I 
would not lead, for the best chance of winning with a 
lone king is when some one else leads the suit. This 
advice, however, is far from being positive, for it must 
be borne in mind that even when another player leads 
the suit you are not sure of a trick with the king ; the 
odds, in fact, being against it. But your hand may be 



SHORT-SUIT LEADS. 9 1 

so constituted that it is better to set the king out of the 
consideration at once, preferring to lose him and have 
done with it, rather than break tenaces or lead trumps. 
A solus, or only once guarded queen, on the other 
hand, is more likely to win when led than when played 
in following suit. Hence, having decided that a single- 
ton is the proper play, you can lead any singleton 
lower than a king. The whole question hinges 
upon the advisability of making the lead at all. In de- 
ciding upon it, some discrimination must be exercised ; 
but if a singleton is to be led at all, the denomination 
of it, so that it is lower than a king, does not matter. 



DETECTING SHORT-SUIT LEADS. 



Having indicated the various short-suit leads, it re- 
mains as a final preliminary to the aclual study of the 
play of the game, to investigate the means by which 
the partner gathers the extremely important informa- 
tion that the lead is from a short or weak suit, and not 
from a long or strong one. In the first place, a thor- 
ough familiarity with the conventional long-suit leads is 
indispensable. In order to refresh the memory for this 
part of the subject they may be briefly repeated here. 

The ace is led from A Q J with or without smaller 
cards, and from ace and four or more small cards. 

The king is led from A KQJ ; AKQ; AK; and 
K Q, at the head of any number of smaller cards ; and 
from KQJ and only one small card. 

The queen is led from Q J 10, with or without 
small cards. 

The jack is led from KQJ and at least two small 
cards. 

The ten is led from K J 10, with or without small 
cards. 

The nine is led only from A Q 10 9, or A J 10 9. 

The original fourth-best is led in all other 
cases. 



DETECTING SHORT-SUIT LEADS. 



93 



It will be observed that the card led always proclaims 
the presence in the leader's hand of certain other cards. 
These will be fonnd in the chapter on Conventional 
I^eads. When the partner sees that any one of these 
cards, which should be in the leader's hand, is held by 
another player, he will know that the lead is irregular, 
and may safely assume that it is from a short suit. If 
the partner is familiar with the conventional leads he 
will derive the evidence of a short-suit lead from the fall 
of the cards, instinctively, and without conscious effort. 
A few examples of this may be examined with profit. 

The ace, as we have seen, is never included in the 
short-suit leads, and so does not concern us here. The 
original lead of an ace should always announce a long 
suit. 

The king. — This card is the most frequently led 
from long suits, and the least often from short. Hence, 
with regard to it we reverse the process of reasoning 
applied to all other leads, and argue from the short suit 
to the long. The king is never led from a short suit 
unless it is accompanied by the queen ; therefore : — 

If partner leads a king, he has led from a long suit 
if you hold the queen, or if either of the opponents play 
it. For example : 



Partner leads 



and you hold 



* * 

*** 

* * 


* * 
* 

* * 



You know at once that the lead is from a long suit. 



94 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



When the king is led from a short suit, the second 
lead is always the queen ; therefore : — ■ 

If partner leads king, and on its winning follows 
with any card other than the queen, if you hold the 
ace, he has led from a long suit. For example : — 



You hold :- 



4- 


4- , 4» 
* V 4- 
* * 



4- 4- 
4» 4» 
4- 4- 



The cards to the first two tricks fall :- 







4- 4- 
4* 4- 
4» 4» 

4^gr 
A; 












4- 




4- 
4- 
* 






4* 4* 
4- 4» 


Z Y 


4. a 
4.' 

* 4- 
4* 






4* 4» 
4. 4. 

4«** 
4. 4. 


4* 4» 

* 

4. 4. 



















When partner continues with the 5, 3^ou know at 
once that clubs is his long suit, because he follows the 
king with the fourth-best, and not with the queen. 

If you have neither ace nor queen, and the oppo- 
nents win your partner's king, it may be some time be- 
fore he gets another lead, and in the meantime you 
cannot tell whether he led from a long or a short suit. 
That need not deter you from returning the suit if you 
wish to do so, for you know he has at least the cjueen. 



DETECTING SHORT-SUIT LKADS. 



95 



and can win the trick. Moreover, the instances are very 
rare in which a king will be led from a short suit. 

The queen. —The long-suit lead of a queen always 
proclaims the presence of the jack and ten. (See Con- 
ventional Leads, the queen.) Therefore : — - 

If partner leads a queen he has led from a short 
suit if you hold, or either of your opponents play, the 
jack or the ten of the same suit. For example : — 



Partner leads 



and you 
hold 



4. * 



You know the minute the queen touches the table that 
it is a short-suit lead. Again : — 



Partner 
leads 



and you 
hold 



4* • 4* 

4* 4* 

*A* 

4» l 4» 


4» * 
4* 



4* 4* 
4* 4» 
4- 4« 



4. * 



4- 4» 



You know the queen is a short-suit lead. 
If these two cards fall to the first trick 



4.* 
4-** 



You know instantly, without looking at your own 
hand that the queen has been led from a short suit. 



9 6 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



T/ie jack. — The long-suit lead of a jack proclaims 
both king and queen. (See Conventionl I^eads, the 
j ack . ) Therefore : — 

If partner leads jack he has led from a short suit if 
you hold, or your opponents play, either the king or 
queen. For example : — ■ 



Partner leads 



I and you hold 






You immediately know this to be a short-suit lead. 
Again : 



Partner leads I 



and you 
hold 



* * 

*** 
4. 4. 


4» 4. 

* 
4. 4. 

4* 
4» 4» 


4. 4. 
4. 

•j» 4* 



In this case the queen, in your hand, proclaims the 
jack to be a short-suit lead. 

The first two cards fall thus : — 




Without looking at your own hand, you know the 
jack is a short-suit lead, 



DETECTING SHORT-SUIT LKADS. 



97 



You are B and hold 



A ' A 
A*A 



A A 
A A 
A * 



A A 



The cards to the first trick fall 
B 



A A 

* * 



AF 

'■'■"■'■ V" 
2Ai 



The fall of the king marks the lead as from a short 
suit. 

The ten. — The long-suit lead of the ten proclaims 
both king and jack. (See Conventional I^eads, the 
ten.) Therefore: — ■ 

If partner leads a ten he has led from a short suit if 
you hold, or your opponents play, either the king or 
jack of that suit. For example : — 



Partner leads 



A . A 

A * 
A*A 



and you 
hold 



A A 

A 
A A 

A A 



* 
A 
A 


A 
A 



Holding the king, you know it is a short-suit lead. 



9 8 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



Partner leads 



4. v 4« 



and you hold 



* 

* 



4«** 



4. 4. 



Here the jack in your hand marks the lead as from a 
short suit. 

The first two cards fall thus : — 






The fall of the king from Y shows that A has led 
from a short suit : 



You hold 



4. A 

* 
4. 4. 

4-4* 



*** 

4. 4. 
4. 4. 



and the cards fall 



B 



*4.* 

4. 4. 

4. 4. 



4. 4. 
*** 



DETECTING SHORT-SUIT LEADS. 99 

If the ten is a long-suit lead, the only card that can 
take it is the ace, which would also take your queen. 
If it is a short-suit lead, your best play is to hold your 
still doubly guarded queen, playing the seven to un- 
block, in case the suit is long. When Z wins with the 
jack you know the ten has been led from a short suit, 
and that, although both ace and king are against you, 
your partner will probably trump the third round. 

The Nine. — As the short-suit player is advised never 
to lead from the double major tenace, or from the vice 
tenace, ace jack, the lead of a nine may be assumed as 
invariably from a short suit. 

Small Cards. — When cards below the nine are 
led it is sometimes very difficult to detect them as from 
a short suit. Partner may have tenace in all the other 
suits ; or he may have no strengthening cards to lead. 

For such cases there are rules that may assist you in 
deciding on the nature of the lead, even though the 
card led is much below a nine. These rules are 
founded on the fact that you cannot hold three cards 
higher than the ten ; or three cards lower than the ace 
and higher than the nine ; or three higher than the 
nine and exclusive of the queen and jack, without hav- 
ing a combination from which a conventional high- 
card lead should be made. 

Short-suit players are indebted to Dr. Bond Stowe 
for these rules, which were first published in " Foster's 
Whist Manual." The third rule, which is the least 
important, I have ventured to change a little in the 
wording, although the principle remains the same. 



TOO 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



J. — If you can locate all the cards from 
the one led to the TUN inclusive, it is a short- 
suit lead. Example: — 



Partner 
leads 



Again 






and you 

hold 



You are B and 
hold 




* * 


* 


*** 






* * 


* 



The cards to the first trick fall: — 







In each of these instances you are able to locate the 
cards from the one led to the ten inclusive, and know 
that they are both short-suit leads. 

2. — If you can locate all the cards from 
the one led to the NINB inclusive, and can 
also account for the ACM, it is a short-suit lead. 



DETECTING SHORT-SUIT LEADS. 



IOI 



Partner leads 



4, 4. 



and you 
hold 



* 




4. l 4. 


4. 4. 
4. 4. 



having in your own hand all the cards from 
to the nine, inclusive, and also the ace, 
that the seven must have been led from a 
Again : — 



the one led 
you know 
short suit. 



You are B and hold 




4. 4* 

4. * 


*4-* 

4* 4* 

4.^4. 


4. 4. 
4, 4. 
4. 4. 



and the cards to the first trick fall : — 







4*7^ 






4» 
* * 




W*MA 




* 


4, 4. 




4. 4» 








4* 








♦ * 







You can detect the five as a short-suit lead. 

3. — If yoa can locate all the cards from 
the one led to the NINE inclusive, and can 
also account for both queen and jack, it is a 

short-suit lead. Example : — 



Partner leads 



4» 
4. 4. 



and you 
hold 







4. 4. 



4. 4. 



[02 



SHORT SUIT WHIST 



Here you have in your own hand all the cards from the 

one led t*> thf nine, and also tlu- (|uecu and jack, s«> tli.it 

the s must have been led from a short suit. Again : — 



MM 

You are B and hold | "Ki\ || 

fill 



V 

J,* A 



-i- -:- 

•I- * 
A A 



A A 

A A 



The cards to the first trick Fall:— 



A A 

*A* 

A ' -T« 



A r> u 



A A 

A A 
A 



Si / 

it 



All the cards from the seven to the nine, as well as 

the queen and jack are accounted for ; so you know the 

Seven is a short-suit had. 

I introduce these rules for detecting the short suit 

lead of small cards as a matter of couisc, since they be 

long to the subject under discussion; but the player 
must, be wide awake to employ them to advantage. 
The difficulty increases as the face value of the card led 
decreases, For instance: Yon will frequently be 

able to recognize the 8 as short, while, except under 



DETECTING SHORT SUIT i,KAi>S. i<>^ 

the most unusual circumstances, it will be impossible 
to read correctly the Lead of a .| or 3 from a short suit. 
i.c.uii the rules nevertheless, and always be prepared 
to use them. The positive knowledge that partner's 
Original lead of a six or n seven is from a short suit 
may, on occasion, prove the salvation of your com- 
bined hands, and result in ;i great game ; 1 1 1 < I ovei 
whelming triumph, 



THE SHORT- SUIT GAME. 



The long-suit whist player endeavors to bring about 
the most effective of trick-taking situations by getting 
out of his way all cards superior to those that he holds 
in his longest suit, exhausting trumps, and then se- 
curing the lead. He usually sacrifices everything to 
this laudable end, without discrimination. With it in 
view he commits himself to the lead of his strongest 
suit, regardless of its tenace possibilities ; to the lead of 
his longest suit, though it may be utterly lacking in 
strength ; and to the blind leading of trumps, when 
holding a given number, in the vague hope of finding 
his partner with a long-suit which may eventually be 
established and brought in. When he succeeds the 
reward is ample ; but in the majority of cases I think 
it will be found that he does not succeed, and failure 
means more than the mere want of success ; it means 
disaster. There are fifty-two cards in the pack, dis- 
tributed among the players, and when one of these 
players has removed the trumps and made the road 
smooth and straight for the conquering march of estab- 
lished plain suit cards, he may discover that his own 
are not so established, and that he has simply placed 
his opponents in the position that he hoped to occupy 
himself. 



THE SHORT-SUIT GAME. IO5 

The short-suit player, however, declines to be tied 
down to one line of play. He fully realizes the value 
of establishing a long suit, but does not vainly strive 
for its accomplishment when there is little likelihood of 
success. He preserves and profits by his tenaces, both 
in plain suits and in trumps ; which, while recognizing 
the special features of the trumps, enables him to util- 
ize their trick-taking possibilities to the utmost, instead 
of regarding them merely as ambushed highwaymen, 
or devoting them to a sort of Kilkenny cat mutual ex- 
termination!. Not that the short- suit player is opposed 
to leading trumps when the occasion calls for it; for the 
natural tendency of his game is to establish medium 
cards that at the outset were comparatively valueless ; 
and when such establishment has taken place, he is 
quick enough to lead trumps, though from only one or 
two. 

The fundamental principle and ruling motive of the 
short-suit game can be given in one sentence. I do 
not find this principle embodied in any of the works on 
whist that I have read, although it is the essence of all 
whist. 

Mvery card, individually, is more valu- 
able when led up to than when led. 

Ninety-nine times out of a hundred you get more for 
your money by keeping this principle in view. When 
you lead an ace, you gather in a crop of deuces and 
treys ; when you play it fourth hand, you capture a 
king or a queen. Of course there are occasions when 
you have a group or sequence of high cards, and their 



io6 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



value lies in their being led ; but in such cases each 
card partakes of the importance of the whole combina- 
tion, which gives it an advantage not possessed by it 
individually. With isolated high cards the above 
maxim is strictly true, and if the reader will resolve 
always to. bear it in mind, he will at once strengthen 
his game at least ten per cent. 

The long-suit player recognizes this principle as far 
as tenace is concerned, perhaps ; but there he lets the 
matter drop. The short-suit player applies it to all 
phases of the game c 

Let us take a simple illustration : — 




* * 

*** 

* * 


* 



Strictly speaking, this is a long suit, and contains a 
conventional high-card lead. But the short-suit player 
argues after this fashion : If I lead the king and force 
the ace, I can afterwards lead the queen with the cer- 
tainty of a trick, bar trumping. But that will be the 
only trick I can count on, for the opponents may 
hold jack and ten, in which case my nine and deuce 
will be worthless. On the other hand, if I wait, and 
the player on my left leads the suit, I am sure of two 
tricks, bar trumping ; and if I continue to wait, and 
others lead the suit, I may make my nine good by 
catching the jack and ten ; making three tricks in the 
suit, instead of one. 



THH SHORT-SUIT GAME. 



107 



The same reasoning may be applied to another high- 
card long-suit lead. 




*** 


* * 



If the ten is led, it may fall a victim to the queen, 
lendering the lead of the jack or king necessary to force* 
out the ace on the next round, leaving the leader but 
one probable trick in the suit. If some other player 
leads the suit, and the ace appears, the four can be 
pla} r ed to the trick. The king may afterwards catch 
the queen, leaving the jack and ten established. 

It has lately become the practice among long-suit 
players to lead the fourth-best from this combination, 
on the chance that partner has an honor, and can win 
the first trick, or establish the suit. 

While it will be only once in three times that the 
lead will come from your left-hand opponent, your 
chances are still improved by not leading the suit at 
all ; for whether your partner or your right-hand ad- 
versary leads it, only one adversary plays after you, 
and that makes your chances twice as good as when 
both follow you. 

These dilatory tactics must not be carried so far that 
you may lose the opportunity to make one trick by 
waiting to make three. Everything depends on the 
hand, and the player must use his discretion. In the 
beginning of the hand we may assume that the short- 



108 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

suit player's policy, with only moderate strength, is to 
wait, which he does by leading from his weakest suit. 
This will either win a trick with a medium card, or 
will throw the lead. The cards that should be led 
from such weak suits have already been indicated. 
Our next step will be the consideration of the condi- 
tions under which it is best to make these short-suit 
leads, and I know of no better way than the discussion 
of illustrated hands. 



THE LEADER. 



Let us take a number of hands, casually selected 
from a thousand or more recorded for the purpose, and 
analyse them from the original leader's point of view. 
Hearts are trumps in every instance. 



No. 23. 



s? 



V 


~<? 


r ? 


<? 


V 


9 



n 


* 















*'* 






* * 



This is apparently so simple as hardly to require 
notice. You hold major tenace in two suits, and 
double tenace in the third, and cannot fail to be. more 
benefited if they are led up to you than if you lead 
away from them. The long-suit lead would be the 
club 7; but you should not hesitate to lead the dia- 



no 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



mond J. As a general rule, this would not be re- 
garded as a good short- suit lead, because there are 
three cards in the suit, and therefore no hope for a ruff. 
But with a hand like this you can only hope to have 
your tenaces led up to by throwing the lead in the 
short suit. 



No. 24. 








<5> 9 



I [*^~* |f~* |*~* 
JHS1 ±z* k il » » 




* 
* 


* 



Here you have two technically long suits, neither of 
them intrinsically or numerically strong. One of them 
contains the minor tenace, which we know is best led 
up to. The long-suit lead would be the spade 6 or the 
club 2 ; but I think there can be no question that the 
diamond Q is better than either. 



the leader. 



in 



No. 25. 



<v> 





9? V 



9 9? 



9? 9? 







If 










4. 4. 

*** 
*** 
4. * 


* 






With this hand I would adopt the long-suit game, 
leading the spade J to force the ace, and to show part- 
ner the suit. On getting into the lead again, or if 
the jack wins, the trump should be led. 



No. 26. 






*** 


V 

* * 


a 4 

♦ * 


* 

♦ 
* 









i 













112 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



Here the diamond suit is not very strong, but by 
leading it you avoid any waste of medium cards in the 
uncertain effort to increase the value of low ones, and 
you give partner a chance to signal, if he wishes to do 
so. If the ace and king both win, you can lead the 
short suit if nothing better offers, thus utilizing both 
systems. 



No. 27. 




In the chapter on " Finesse," reference was made to 
the A K J finesse. This hand offers an opportunity to 
try it, making both the long and short-suit leads at 
the same time. ' Lead the spade king, and follow it 
with the diamond ten. The change of suit will show 
partner that you have a finesse in spaides, and he will 
lead the queen if he has it, or will lead trumps to 
defend the established suit. If he returns a small 
spade, the finesse is left to your judgment. The long- 



THK LKADKR. 113 

suit plaj^er would begin with the small club, keeping 
the spade suit for re-entry ; but the short-suiter would 
prefer the line of play indicated, because the club suit 
contains a vice tenace, which is better led up to. 

The standard works on whist advise beginners 
always to lead trumps from five or more ; but I can- 
not subscribe to this, for I am convinced that such a 
course brings about more loss than gain. I cannot see 
why even a beginner should not give himself more 
latitude, and say : " When I hold six or more trumps, 
I will always lead them; but with five or less I will try 
to exercise a little discretion, as I do with every card I 
play." I quite appreciate the force of the argument 
that partner must be considered, and that the fact that 
you are weak in plain suits renders it likely that he is 
strong ; but still I maintain that it is best to wait for 
some indication from him that he is strong, instead of 
taking it on trust. As the old darkey said of the 
white folks, whist" is mighty unsartin," and it seems 
to me that some discrimination might be allowed in 
leading trumps from five. With six trumps, I think a 
player is strong enough to lead them, regardless of 
partner's holding in the plain suits. 

The short-suit player fully recognizes the special 
value of trumps, both for ruffing and for defending 
long suits ; but in addition he tries to play them with 
a view to taking as many tricks as possible in the 
trump suit itself, instead of using the trumps merely as 
so many corkscrews to draw their fellows, no matter 
how, so that they are all taken out. 



ii 4 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



The A K J finesse in the trump suit is a case in 
point, which is illustrated in the following diagram : — 



No. 28. 




9 9? 








0^0 













4. * 4. 

*** 
*** 


4. 4. 
4. 4. 
4, 4. 


4. 4. 
4, 4, 



With this hand, to lead trumps for the sole purpose 
of exhausting them could only result in loss as far as 
the leader is concerned. It is true that partner may 
be strong in the plain suits ; but you don't know that 
he is ; and until assured of the fadl it might be better 
to lead the short spade suit, even with no other object 
than the probable ruff on the third round. But the 
opportunity to gain an extra trick in the trump suit 
itself is too promising to be ignored, and if you follow 
the lead of the heart king by that of the spade 9, your 



*fHK LKADKR. 



115 



partner will know that ) t ou have a finesse in the trump 
suit. The long-suit player would probably blaze away 
with the aee and king of trumps, and after losing a 
trick to the queen find that he has exhausted trumps 
for the benefit of a powerful spade suit in the hands of 
the adversaries. 



No. 29. 




0° 


0% 












* 
4. 4. 


* 
* 

*_ 



Here your long suit contains a quadruple tenace, but 
you have no other strength in the hand, and are 
offered a good short-suit lead with the spade jack. 
Nevertheless, the diamond suit is so long that there is 



n6 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



little chance of your deriving any benefit from its 
tenaces, as the suit may not go round more than once. 
The best play is to lead the diamond ace, and if it is 
not trumped, to follow it with the fourth-best. 



No. 30. 




9 V 








4 * 

* * 


* 

♦ 
* 







0°0 


°0° 






This is another simple hand. Neither of the four- 
card suits can be called strong, although one contains a 
minor and the other a vice tenace ; both of which are 
combinations which are best led up to. The club 9 is 
the best lead. If either adversary should hold K, Q, 
and others in diamonds, and lead the suit, you will 



THE LEADER. 



117 



have an opportunity to play the Bath Coup, which will 
be discussed later on. 



No. 3: 










I have said that the short-suit player should have 
some additional reason for leading trumps from five 
than the mere fact of holding them. He should lead 
them boldly when the occasion calls for it, even if he 
has only two or three. With such a strong hand as 
the above it is best to exhaust the trumps as rapidly as 
possible. Some players would lead the small trump, 



n8 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



so as to win the third round ; while others would he- 
gin with the queen, hoping clubs or spades would be 
led up to them. 

Now, let us be independent enough to make the ac- 
quaintance of the ostracised singleton lead. 



No. 32. 



9? 
5> <J 








o 
o 
o 





o 



*** 

* * 


* * 
* 


4. 4. 
4. 4. 


* 
* 



Here we have three long suits, and a singleton. 
The average long- suiter would probably lead the 
trump, as that is the strongest suit. Such a lead 
would give partner no warning that it was your only 
available lead, and he would naturally do all in his 
power to exhaust the trumps immediately. 



the leader. 



119 



The chief objection to the singleton lead is that it is 
liable to establish a great suit with the adversaries, 
who will exhaust the trumps. With this hand you 
are strong enough to run that risk, if risk it be. If the 
adversaries' spades are so strong that one round will 
establish them, they will probably play spades in any 
case, and your original lead of trumps would only be 
helping their game. I would recommend the singleton 
lead from this hand. 



No. 33. 



9? <? 

9? v 9? 
9? 9? 


9? 9? 

9? 
9? 

9? 9? 


9? V 
9? 9? 


7 

9? 




* * 




4* 
























*** 

4. 4. 

4- 

4» v * 


*** 

* 4- 
4. 4. 


4. 4* 
4. 4. 
4. 4. 


4- 



This it what is known asa" Yarborough," the odds 
against which are 1827 to 1, so that it is hardly worth 



120 



SHORT-SUlT WHIST. 



while to discuss it. I give it as an example of such 
weakness that you are warranted in taking any risks, 
and I would advise the lead of the diamond 5. The 
trumps are too weak to prevent the adversaries ex- 
hausting them j but I still think the singleton the best 
lead. 



No. 34. 



9 S? 



V 9 






» *1 



V 

* •* 








o v o 



















* * 

*** 
4. 4. 





In such a hand as this, when the trumps are both 
numerically and intrinsically weak, I think the single- 
ton is unsafe. The spade suit is the best defensive lead, 
on account of its length, and there is a bare chance 



TH£ I^AD^R. 



121 



that your partner may put you in after the trumps are 
gone. 



No. 35. 






9 9 
9 9 






* * 

* 

* * 


* 
* 






0<>0 











Quite a different reason prompts the singleton lead 
from this hand. In the foregoing examples you were 
so weak that the play for the ruff seemed your only 
chance. Here your strength lies in the suits that you 
want led up to, and the best chance to throw the lead 
is to play the singleton. 

I have already stated that short-suit leads do not 
apply to trumps, because one of the principle reasons 
for leading two-card suits, the hope of a ruff, cannot 



122 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



exist. But a short trump suit may be used for the 
same purpose as the singleton in the last example, to 
throw the lead when all the plain suits are better led 
up to. 

For example: — 



No. 36. 



9 <? 






*** 





<> 



*** 

*** 

1*1* 



4. 4, 



4. 4. 



With this hand it is better to lead a trump than to 
break into the tenace suits. Under similar circum- 
stances a trump singleton should be led, regardless of 
its value, although the books say the ace is the only 
permissible singleton lead in trumps. There are other 
occasions in which a singleton trump is the best lead, 



THE LEADER. 



123 



but their discussion will be reserved for our chapter on 
" Suggestions." 

Some players urge that three tenace suits cannot all 
be made, which is quite true ; but it is better not to 
guess at the one to break, if it can be avoided. 



No. 37. 



[90 

9 <? 





_ ft *l ft 4>1 ft ft 4 















Here the spade suit is not strong, and the club suit 
would be better led up to, but the diamonds are too 
small for partner to understand such a lead. It is 
practically a long-suit hand, and I would lead the ace 
of spades, following with the fourth-best. 



124 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



No. 38. 



9? <? 




9 9? 




^<> 














„ 




[o_<>] 




4. . A 


n* 


4. 4 4. 




*** 


4- 



In this band the short suit would be difficult for 
partner to understand as such, but both the other plain 
suits should be led up to, and you have trumps enough 
to risk the spade lead. 



No. 39. 



9 o^ 


s? s? 


9 




<? 9 






gj_S? 


9 9? 


<? 




FUCI 


1* * 


r*~^i 




'W ; ;, 


*** 






mM 


♦__♦! 


* * 




<> 

0% 


o\ 


0"0 


" 







o| 














Wk 


*iBtt 


4. ' + 




ffl 


Ira 


*** 





the deader. 125 

In this hand the longest suit is hopeless, and the 
doubly guaided queen stands a better chance if some 
other player leads the suit. The hand offers a good 
high-card lead with the club 10. If there was another 
card in the suit it would be better led up to, but with 
three only you have no small card to throw off on the 
ace, and as you must lose the ten, you might as well 
lead it. 

But we cannot go on indefinitely giving examples. 
It is equally impossible to settle upon a positive stand- 
ard by which every hand may be judged. In the 
prescription for the short-suit game; " Brains, quan- 
tum suf." must replace the usual, " Rule of thumb, ad 
lib." which is the principal ingredient in long-suit 
whist. The following may be called recommenda- 
tions, instead of rules, for the guidance of the short- 
suit player. 

First. — If you have a good short-suit lead, such 
as a two-card suit headed by a Q, J, 10, or 9, you 
should lead it unless your strongest suit is one of four 
cards exactly, and contains both ace and king ; or 
king, queen, jack ; or queen, jack, ten, nine ; and 
is accompanied by a card of re-entry in another 
suit. This card of re-entry is imperative in every in- 
stance. 

Second.— Lead your short suit if you have one, 
unless your strong suit is one of five cards exactly, and 
contains at least the ace, or some combination of two 



126 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

honors, counting the ten as one; in either case with a 
card of re-entry in another suit. 

Third. — Never lead from a suit of four cards or less 
if it contains the major or the minor tenace. 

Fourth. — Never lead from a suit of five cards if it 
contains the double major tenace. If it contains the 
single major tenace do not lead it if you have any good 
short-suit lead. 

Fifth.- — From any suit of six or more cards, make 
the long-suit lead. 

Sixth. — Do not lead from five trumps just because 
you have so many; but lead from any number, even a 
singleton, if j^ou have a reason for it; such as tenaces 
or good cards in all the plain suits. 

With the exception of the last, I do not pretend to 
present these as imperative. They simply represent 
an effort to aid the beginner in deciding between the 
two schemes of play that are dependent on the original 
lead. They are by no means radical, as they lean 
rather to the long-suit game than to the short. Many 
bold short-suit players would demand in almost every 
instance greater strength than I have given as the 
minimum before they would undertake to establish a 
long suit. 

Now let us see if the foregoing principles are of any 
assistance in determining the proper lead from a few 
hands dealt at random. 



No. 40. 



THE LEADER. 



127 




* * 

♦ 
4 * 








*** 


0^0 


*** 










The long suit does not come up to the standard, the 
ace, or two honors ; so you selecl: the short suit, and 
lead the club queen. (See Rule 2.) 



No. 41. 



*** 


* 



<? S? 


7 S? 


<? 9? 




9? <? 


<? <5> 



fib 

(PHI* 

Hi 




























4,~4. 


4. 4. 
4, 4. 


4. 4. 
*_4 



128 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



According to Rule 3, the diamonds are out of the 
question, as they contain the major tenace. The spade 
9 is a good short-suit lead. 



No. 42. 



9? <P 









V 
* * 



0~ 







Here the club suit fulfils the conditions of Rule 1 , 
and the re-entry card is in the spade suit. An addi- 
tional reason for leading the king and ace of clubs, is 
that there is not a good short-suit lead in the hand, 



THE LEADER. 



129 



No. 43. 




0^° 
0<>0 

o<>o 
o o 



* 






Neither of the four-card suits comes up to the pro- 
visions of Rule 1 ; but the hand offers a good short-suit 
lead in the diamond jack. 



No. 44. 










A 
0^0 

o o 
o o 



*** 
*** 


4. 4. 
•5* 

4* * 





0^0 

o o 



o 

0*0 















ISO 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



This hand comes under rule 5. There are six cards 
in the long suit, with a card of re-entry in spades, and 
no good short-suit lead. The fourth-best diamond is 
the best opening lead. 



No. 45. m 












4. 


*** 

*** 


4- * 
* 


* 



The long suit, four cards, does not fulfil the condi- 
tions of Rule 1 , and there is no card of re-entry ; while 
the spade j ack offers a good short-suit lead. 



TH£ LKADKR. 



I3 1 



No. 46. 




The club suit fulfils the conditions of Rule 1, and 
there are cards of re-entry in both the other plain suits. 
Lead the club king. 



No. 47. 



s? 








n 


V 



*--* 



A A 









4. * 


* * 


A * 


*** 
A** 


A A 




* * 


A A 


+ * 



132 short-suit whist. 

This hand is an instance of choosing the lesser of 
two evils. The spades do not come up to the require- 
ments of Rule 2 , as they do not contain either the ace 
or two honors; but there is a good card of re-entry, 
and there is not a good short-suit lead. These consid- 
erations point to the lead of the fourth-best spade as 
the best play. 

I am well aware that these recommendations or rules 
are far from per feci:, for it is impossible in a few words 
to lay down definite directions that will cover every 
hand. The foregoing are simply an effort to formulate 
some sort of standard which will enable a player to de- 
cide between the long and the short-suit systems in the 
opening leads, which is something that no other writer, 
to my knowledge, has ever attempted. 

At the first glance these rules may appear somewhat 
inconsistent in requiring so much more from suits of 
four cards than from those of five. In reality such is 
not the case, for the addition of the fifth card, however 
small, makes the suit much more valuable. With a 
four-card suit, the most favorable condition is to have 
the suit go round three times ; but this leaves only 
one established card in the leader's hand. With a 
five-card suit, there is a good chance to establish two 
cards, which is no small matter in a close game. 
Therefore it naturally requires less intrinsic strength 
to place a five-card suit on a par with a four-card suit. 

So far we have discussed the question of the lead 
only from the leader's point of view. But we must 
not lose sight of the facl: that when you are not the 



THE LEADER. 



133 



original leader the fall of the cards before your first 
lead may change the aspect of affairs to such an extent 
that a hand which would have called for a long-suit 
lead originally may no longer do so when you get into 
the lead, later in the hand. Two illustrations will suf- 
fice for this point. 



No. 48. 




* * 

4 * 


4 * 


















You are Y, and hold these cards. If it were your 
original lead you would play the long suit, because you 
have a five-card suit with three honors in it, and a 
card of re-entry in diamonds. But A leads spade 8. 
If this is his fourth-best your ten will win the trick, 
see Foster's Eleven Rule. Your spade suit is not 
so good as it was, for tenace is held over you on your 



134 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



right, and 3^011 cannot lead the suit. Trumps are out 
of the question, and the singly guarded king must be 
led up to. The best lead is the smallest diamond. 



No. 49. 





*1 


5? 



I4j§f 


j*** 




* 


A 




K* 




♦ 


* 






o 
o o 



0" 


"0 















4. 4. 
4. * 



* 



In this example you are Z. If you were the original 
leader you should begin with the long suit, which 
comes within our first qualification, and is accompanied 
by the card of re-entry in spades ; besides which there 
is no good short-suit lead. But A leads diamond 5; 
Y, plays 2 ; B, the Q, and you win with the K. Y 
cannot be signalling. If that were probable you might 
return the ace to allow him to complete a call ; but in 
this case it is better to retain the command of the ad- 
verse suit as long as possible. The spade 8 is your 
best lead, unless you have a very good partner, who 



THK LKADER. 135 

can be trusted not to read such a card as the club 7 as 
led from strength. 

In continuing short-suit leads, it is always desirable 
to follow up a strengthening card w T ith another card of 
the same suit. If you lead a queen, and it w T ins, go on 
with the suit: so also if you lead a jack. But if you 
lead a ten or a nine, and it wins, you should consider 
the propriety of leading trumps, as your partner must 
be very strong in the suit you originally lead. Four 
trumps with an honor, or three with two honors should 
be led under such circumstances. 

When you originally lead a short-suit you will fre- 
quently lose the trick; but the oponent will often have 
to play a disproportionately high card to win it, which 
will promote any intermediate cards in your partner's 
hand. 

When 3 T our partner gets in, he will estimate his hand 
on the same principles that guide you ; and if he leads 
you a short suit, you must finesse it judiciously, trust- 
ing that fourth hand will have to play some card that 
will promote those remaining in your hand. 

This brings up the question of what constitutes 
judicious finessing by the third hand. To ascertain 
this we must first consider the play of the third hand 
on each lead that his partner might make, and then 
present the whole in tabulated form. 



THE THIRD HAND. 



Ace I/ed. — You can only play your smallest ; un- 
less you have four exactly ; when you play third-best 
and keep the lowest. 

King I/ed. — Play the next to the smallest when 
you have four exactly ; the smallest with any other 
number. There are two exceptions with high cards: 
When you hold A J only, the play is the ace, for part- 
ner must have the queen, and the ace would block his 
suit, the jack will not. He can win the jack with the 
queen if he has the ten, otherwise he may pass it. The 
other exception is when you have only ace and one 
small; or ace and a number of others, and a very strong 
trump hand. It is best to win the king and exhaust 
the trumps, if you can trust your partner for a long 
suit. 

Queen I/ed. — We have already seen that if you 
hold A Q yourself, your play is to finesse the queen. 
If the queen is led, and you hold ace third hand, your 
play is to finesse the queen if second hand does not 
cover it. Holding A K and others your play is a 
small card unless you have only one. If this small 
card, or the one played second hand, is such that you 
know the queen is a short-suit lead; you should pass ; 
but otherwise you should play the king and return the 



THE THIRD HAND. 1 37 

ace, so as not to block a long suit headed by J 10. 
Some judgment must be exercised in cases in which 
you are strong enough to win the trick and lead trumps. 

Holding king and others, nothing can be gained by 
playing king on queen, unless the lead is from a long 
suit and you have only one small card with the king. 
If second hand held the ace, he would play it on the 
queen, and as it must be in fourth hand, there is only 
one situation in which you can lose by giving up the 
king if you have only one small card with it, and that 
is when the queen is a short-suit lead. The mere fact 
of 3^our holding only two cards in the suit renders it 
unlikely that partner held but two also. 

With the exceptions mentioned, it may be stated as 
a general rule that you should always pass a partner's 
queen, unless second hand covers, and you have ace. 

Jack Led. — The long-suit lead of the jack is from 
K Q J and at least two others. (See Conventional 
Leads, the Jack.) If you have the ace and two or 
more small cards }^ou should pass the jack. If it is from 
a long suit it will win. If not, it will force an honor, 
and still leave you in command of the suit. Holding 
ace and only one small, you should play the ace, so as 
not to block a possible long suit. Holding A K, or 
A Q, you should pass the jack, as you know it is a 
short-suit lead, and the finesse is against one card only. 

Holding king and one or more small, you know the 
jack is from a short suit, and pass it. Although the 
finesse is against two cards it is your best chance, for 
the ace may be in fourth hand and the queen on your 



138 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

right. If both are on your left you will lose, no mat- 
ter what you play. If queen is on your left and ace on 
your right, your king should be good for the third 
round. If second hand covers you must cover him 
with your K. 

Ten I^ed, — The long-suit lead of the ten is from 
K J 10 and others. (See Conventional Iyeads, the 
Ten.) If you hold ace and others, the conventional 
play is the ace, leaving the finesse to the original leader 
on the return. Holding A K and one small the ten 
must be a short-suit lead, and you must play the king 
to save a trick that would otherwise certainly be lost. 
With A Q and others the lead may be taken for a long 
suit, and passed ; but with A Q alone the ace must be 
played, so as not to block the suit. With A Q and 
only one other, the ace must be played on the second 
round for the same reason. If the ten turns out to be 
a short-suit lead, nothing is lost by passing it, as you 
remain in command with the two best cards if the king 
falls ; if the jack wins it, you have tenace over the 
king. With A J you should pass the ten, although 
you know it is a short-suit lead, for you will be left 
with the major tenace. 

With king and others, or K O and others, you should 
finesse the ten. As a general rule, you should never 
cover a high card led by your partner with a card only 
one remove above it ; such as ace on queen, king on 
jack, or queen on ten. With such a combination as K 
J x, the king is only one remove above the ten, and 
you should pass. 



TlllC THIRD II AN I). 



139 



I Ioldim; <pieen and ;mv number of Stna.11 <\'inls, yon 
assume the ten t<> be led from a long suit, :m<i pass it, 
as your queen cannol block your partner's suit while he 
holds the king, [f second hand covers with the jack, 

yOU must play the <|in<u. 

Nine I,c<l. As ! have advised never Leading from 
combinations in which the nine would be fourth best, 

it may be assumed that the nine is always from a slioil 

suit. It is too small a caid to prove strengthening, 01 
to win the trick ; so with A J, or ace and others, the 

ace should be put 011. With A K or A k Q the nine 
Should he covered. With A k J or A Q J , the nine 

should l>e treated as a small card, and the jack finessed 
Similarly with A o. With A J 10 you can afford to 
pass the nine. With king and only one othci card, 
you should play the king. With k Q play the queen, 

which will either win the trick or force the ace. Willi 
k J and others, finesse the jack av.aiust A Q being both 

on your left. For the same reason, pass with k J i<>. 

Holding queen and others, pass the nine; but with 

queen and only one other, il must be covered. With 

O J and others you should pass. 

With jack and ot hers the nine six >u Id be passed ; with 
jack and only one ot hei it 111 11:. I becoveied. 

Sm.'ifl Curds l,al. Ef anything smaller than a 

nine i:. led, you should play to win the trick, being 

guided by the principles <>l finesse whenever opportu 

nity oilers. 

II the finesse is againstone card only, it should gen 



140 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

erally be made. Holding A Q + play the queen; with 
AKJ + orAOJ + play the jack. 

If the finesse is against two intermediate honors, it 
should be made, for partner may be credited with one 
honor in the suit from which he leads, if it is a long 
suit. If you hold A J +, and cannot detect partner's 
lead of a small card as from a short suit, you should 
finesse the jack. If your partner has an honor in the 
suit the finesse is against one card only; if he has 
not, you are left with tenace in the suit. 

Finessing by the eleven rule is another instance of 
a finesse against one card only. The following cases 
may serve as examples. 

Eight led. Holding queen and any other card higher 
than the eight, pass it. 

Seven led. Holding queen and two others higher, 
pass it. 

Six led. Holding queen and three others higher, 
pass it. 

This finesse is based on the principle that partner 
cannot have both ace and king, and that one of those 
cards must be the only one against him, so your queen 
will not be of any use if either ace or king is behind 
you in fourth hand. 

In these directions for the play of the third hand, I 
have taken it for granted that the reader understands 
' ( passing ' ' to mean playing a smaller card than the 
one led. When you hold four of the suit exactly, and 
do not attempt to win the trick, you should play your 
third-best, and on the next round your second-best, 



Tine third hand. 141 

keeping 1 your smallest card until the last, so as not to 
risk blocking a long suit. 

The subjoined table will assist in impressing the 
foregoing chapter on the mind, and may be found use- 
ful as a table of reference when any doubt arises as to 
the proper play for the third hand. 

Combinations of all cards higher than the one led 
are omitted ; so are those in which you can well afford 
to win partner's card. Such situations require no 
direction, no question of finesse being involved. 

The x represents any card smaller than a 9; and the 
plus sign, +, one or more such cards. 



142 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



TABLB OF THIRD-HAND PLAY 

or Partner's Original Lead. 



When Partner 
Leads 


If You Hold 


You Should 
Play 


Queen 


A, K, + 


K. 


Queen 


A, K, x, + 


X. 


Queen 


A, x, + 


X. 


Queen 


K, x, 


K. 


Queen 


K, x, + 


X. 


Jack 


A, x, 


A. 


Jack 


A, x, + 


X. 


Jack 


A, K, + 


X. 


Jack 


A,Q, + 


X. 


Jack 


K, + 


X. 


IO 


A, + 


A. 


IO 


A, K, + 


K. 


IO 


A, Q, 


A. 


IO 


A, Q, + 


X.* 


IO 


A, J, + 


X. 


IO 


K, Q, + 


X. 


IO 


K,J, + 


X. 


IO 


K, + 


X. 


IO 


Q,x, 


Q. 


IO 


Q>x, + 


X. 



* Play ace on second round, so as not to block the suit if you have 
only one small. 



THE THIRD HAND. 143 

TABLE OF THIRD-HAND PLAY.— Continued. 



When Partner 
Leads 


If You Hold 


You Should 
Play 


9 


A,+ 


A. 


9 


A, K, + 


K. 


9 


A, Q, + 


Q. 


9 


A, J, + 


A. 


9 


•A,K,J, + 


J-t 


9 


A,Q,J, + 


J. 


9 


A, Q,J, 10, + 


X. 


9 


A, J, 10, + 


X. 


9 


K, + 


K, 


9 


K, 10, + 


K. 


9 


K,Q, + 


Q. 


9 


K,J, + 


J. 


9 


K, J, 10, + 


X. 


9 


Q>x, 


Q- 


9 


Q>x, + 


X. 


9 


Q.L + 


X. 


9 


J, x, 


J. 


9 


J, x, + 


X, 


X 


A, Q, + 


Q. 


X 


A, K, J, + 


J. 


X 


A, Q, J, + 


J4 


X 


A, J, + 


J. 


X 


A, J, 10, + 


10. 



f If strong in trumps ; otherwise play the king. 

I If you read partner's lead as from a long suit, play the ace. 



144 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

Writers on whist usually advise deeper finesse in 
trumps than in plain suits, and you should bear this in 
mind when playing with a partner who strictly follows 
the long-suit system. You must finesse boldly in 
trumps when }^ou have for a partner a player who 
leads trumps just because he has five, or because they 
are his only four-card suit. . 

When a short-suit partner leads trumps he either 
wants them out at once, or is throwing the lead to get 
his plain suits led up to. If you think the latter is the 
case, finesse in trumps to your heart's content; but if in 
doubt, do not finesse, not even with A, Q, but win the 
trick with the ace, and make sure of another round. 
Even if partner is only throwing the lead, he is strong 
enough in plain suits to have trumps come out. 

If you have not the trump ace, finesse without hesi- 
tation. Play jack from K, J, +, or 10 from Q, 10 +. 
This applies to the original lead only. The fall of the 
cards and the consideration of " Obligatory finesse," 
govern cases that arise later in the hand. 

We have seen that the short-suit player usually be- 
gins with the highest card of his weak suit, other than 
the ace or king. If you pass,- and the card led wins, he 
goes on with the same suit, or leads trumps. On this 
second round you can play your best card, or finesse, as 
you think best. If you win the trick, or get into the 
lead later on, your own hand and the fall of the cards 
must determine your course. Your partner's original 
lead of a short suit by no means obliges you to lead 
another short suit in return, If your hand and the. fall 



the third hand. 145 

of the cards are favorable to a long-suit lead, why make 
it by all means ; for your partner is supposed to be as 
alert as you are, and will recognize your lead for what 
it is, and will presumably lend himself cheerfully to 
making the most of your cards. 

If you conclude that the short-suit game is the best 
for your hand also, you will lead the highest of your 
weak suit, other than an ace or king. If your partner 
passes it, and it wins, you should go on with the next 
higher card of the same suit, and he will either win 
the trick or finesse, as he thinks best. 

When each of you have made a short-suit lead you 
will frequently find that you and your partner hold 
certain cards of medium value in each other's suits 
that have been sensibly promoted, and which are much 
nearer to being the best of the suit than they were be- 
fore the original lead, or than they usually would be 
after the same number of rounds in the long-suit game. 
This last point is worthy of particular attention. 

If the fall of the cards should establish several of 
these intermediate cards, }^ou can lead trumps with 
some assurance of successfully defending them if you 
have husbanded your strength in the other suits. In 
addition to the advantage of preserving tenaces, this 
promotion and establishment of intermediate cards is 
one of the great advantages of the short-suit game, 
and the aim of the player should be to combine the one 
with the other. Instead of leading from four or five- 
card suits containing tenaces or vice-tenaces, or regu- 
lation long-suit leads with nothing to back them up, 



146 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



the short-suit player leads from his weakest suit. If 
this suit is headed by a Q, J, or 10, the chances are that 
the lead of the highest card will increase the value of 
all partner's cards in that suit. When he gets into the 
lead, he will promote your cards in some other suit in 
the same manner. If either of you have a card of re- 
entry in the third suit, with which to bring in these pro- 
moted cards, a lead of trumps may prove very effective. 
The following diagram will illustrate the value of 
this method of leading strengthening cards. 



No. 50. 








* * 



♦ * 



<0 




O ♦ 


1* ♦ ♦! 


O 


, ♦ 


O O 


!♦ « 4-1 




OOOO 


!♦ <* ♦ 


O 


<* •* 


OOOO 


!♦ ♦ ♦ 



♦ ♦ I 



B 





OOO 
O O 

o| 


e 


OOO 
OOO 








O] 




1 


** j 


o\ 


♦ •* >i 




! 


1 




o\ 








1', 










THE THIRD HAND. I47 

Let us first suppose A and B to be long-suit players. 
The lead of the spade king will force the ace, and the 
queen will be good for the next trick; but after that Y 
will command the suit with the ten, unless B has a 
chance to lead the jack on the second round. If B 
leads a diamond, Y will kill A's queen, making a trick 
in the suit. 

If A and B are short-suiters, A will lead the diamond 
queen, which Y must pass, allowing it to win the 
trick. A continues the suit, and B finesses the 10, 
winning every trick in diamonds by catching the king 
with his ace. B will then lead the spade jack. If Z 
passes, it wins the trick ; if he covers, he establishes 
the entire spade suit in A's hand. 

The reader must not expect to find such opportuni- 
ties as this in every hand ; but they are more frequent 
than would be imagined, and some cases offer even 
greater chances for gain than the example. 

The gist of the whole matter lies in our golden first 
principle ; that all cards are more valuable when led 
up to than when led away from, or led through. The 
short- suit player holds back the suits of moderate 
strength, waiting to have them led up to; leading from 
his weakest suits, in which he has nothing to hope for. 



THE SECOND HAND. 



It is presumed that the reader is familiar with the 
general principles of second-hand play in the long-suit 
game ; but they may be briefly summed up here for 
purposes of comparison. 

When no attempt is made to win the trick the rule 
is to play the lowest card, unless the second hand 
wishes to signal for trumps. But when certain com- 
binations of high cards are held, one of them must be 
played. With any three high cards in sequence, A K Q, 
K Q J, or Q J 10, the lowest of the sequence should 
be played. From A K or K Q and others, the lower 
of the high cards should be played second hand. From 
A Q J, or A J 10, the lowest of the high cards is 
played. From A Q io, the 10 is alwa}^ played in 
trumps, and in plain suits when strong in trumps ; but 
the queen is the rule if weak in trumps. With short 
suits containing two high cards, such as Q J x, or 
J io x, the rule is to play the lower of the high cards 
second hand. With any three cards lower than the 
jack, the rule is to pass ; but in the short-suit game 
you cover, if you can, whatever card is led. With any 
two cards immediately above and below the one led, 
which form what is called a fourchette, the card led 
must be covered, if it is higher than ay. If you hold 



THE SECOND HAND. 



149 



J 9, and the 10 is led, play the J. With 108, play the 
10 on a 9 led. 

The short-suit player will find second-hand play a 
very important feature of the game. He must protect 
his partner in suits in which he knows the latter is 
weak, if the suit is led up to the weak hand, even though 
there is little or no chance to win the trick. The 
short-suit player must also cover supporting cards, 
even without fourchette, if there is any chance to pro- 
mote medium cards by so doing. 



No. 51. 






.j- »j- «j- »t- 






4. * 



B 






4* * 



* 



JHS 




1* 
1+ 




* 
* 




1 


* 


* 



Let us suppose that A leads the club 10; Y covers 
with the king, and every one at the table knows the 10 
is a short-suit lead. If Y is new foolish enough to 



150 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



attempt to underplay you, who are B, by leading the 9 
to A's declared weakness, you at once play in the 
jack from your fourchette, J 8, which are the cards 
immediately above and below the one led, the 10 being' 
played. This will prevent Z from finessing the 9, and 
will make your 8 good for the last round of the suit. 
You are B and hold these cards : 






4- * 

* * 
4. 4. 



The first trick the cards fall:- 



Y cannot hold the ace, or he would have covered 
the jack. Holding queen, you know the jack is from 
a short suit, and any attempt to unblock would be to 
play the adversaries' game. Should Y get into the 
lead later on, and play the club suit through you, you 
should pass any card but the ten; for Z will have to 
play his ace to shut out the possible ten in A's hand. 



THE SECOND HAND. 15I 

If Y leads the ten you must cover it, to make your 
eight the second best, and to prevent Z from finessing. 

If the short suit is usually one of two cards only, it 
will not be often that the adversaries can profit by 
under-play, or by leading up to weakness, as the third 
round of the suit will be trumped ; but if they resort 
to such tactics after the trumps are exhausted, you 
must be on the alert to protect yourself. 

The general theory of the short-suit game having 
been explained, the reader may, with advantage, turn 
his attention to one of the best methods imaginable for 
impressing on the mind its principles by the illustration 
of their use in the progress of an actual game. 



ILLUSTRATIVE GAMES. 



The first game I have selected is for the purpose of 
showing the variation in the score possible at duplicate 
whist when a hand is opened with different original 
leads, such as those of the long and the short-suit sys- 
tems. It is also a good example of what I maintain 
to be the fallacy of leading from five trumps for no 
better reason than that the leader holds that number. 

The game is number 5 1 of the hundred that I have 
already mentioned as having tested. I cannot say 
what the result was in the original play, but as all the 
contestants were long-suit players, I have no doubt that 
they came out even, or with a difference of only a trick 
either way. Although there is nothing striking about 
the hand at the first glance, I soon realized its possi- 
bilities if played by two good short-suit partners against 
two of the long-suit persuasion. 

I^et us first examine it on the supposition that A and 
B are long-suit players, while their adversaries, Y and 
Z, follow the short-suit method. 



154 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



Hearts are declared trumps. A is the original 
leader. The underlined card wins the trick, and the 
card under it is the next one led. 

Game No. i. — Original. 



TRICK. 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


I 


y 6 


V 5 


V 3 


<? 9 


2 


QO 


KO 


AQ 


JO 


3 
4 


V 2 

40 


^A 


- V 4 

30 


Q?IO 

2O 


10C 


5 


V 7 


90 


50 


70 


6 


K4 


A*_ 


6* 


5* 


7 


* 8 


4» 2 


* 3 


*J 


8 


9?K 


4* 


60 


<?Q 


9 


Q* 


7* 


J* 


8* 


IO 


2* 


* 4 


* 5 


104 


ii 


V 8 


*Q 


* 6 


V~J 


12 


3* 


*A 


* 7 


*K 


13 


9* 


80 


♦ 10 


* 9 



The long-suit opening makes 4 tricks. 



II,I<USTRATIVK GAMKS. 155 

Trick i. A has been taught always to lead trumps 
from five ; so he begins with his fourth-best heart. 

Trick 2. Z is a short-suit player, and wants his 
club tenace led up to if possible. Both his other suits 
being weak, he selecls the one with the highest card, 
other than an ace or king, and leads it to his partner 
as a supporting card. A properly covers with the 
queen, which would gain a trick if the positions of the 
ace and king were reversed. 

Trick 3. B has been taught that only sudden ill- 
ness or having no trumps will excuse the failure to 
return partner's original lead of the trump suit. 

Trick 4. Y continues the established diamond suit 
to force the strong trump hand. 

Trick 6. As A cannot catch both Z's trumps, he 
must proceed to the establishment of the spades. 

Trick 7. If Y continues diamonds, A will make both 
his trumps ; so he is forced to open the club suit, be- 
ginning with the smallest card so as not to promote 
the minor tenace if it is in the adversaries' hands. Z 
finesses the jack, as Y's lead must be from a strong 
suit ; the deuce not being a supporting card. 

Trick 8. Z's play is now to prevent A from making 
both his trumps. 

Now let us examine the overplay, in which A and B 
are short-suit players, while their adversaries, Y and 
Z, follow the long-suit system. 



156 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

Game No. 1. — Overplayed. 



TRICK. 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


I 


QO 


K0 


AO 


20 


2 


2* 


A£ 


J* 


5* 


3 


40 


10O 


30 


JO 


4 


Z> 2 


<? 5 


V 3 


_^_Q 


5 
6 


<? 6 
* 8 


^A 


V 4 
* 3 


<?J 


4» 2 


7 


V 7 


80 


50 


70 


8 


^K 


4* 


60 


V 9 


9 


K* 


7* 


6* 


8* 


10 


Q* 


* 4 


* 5 


io4> 


11 


9* 


*Q 


* 6 


^10 


12 


V 8 


90 


* 7 


*J 


13 


3* 


*A 


4k 10 


4» 9 



The short-suit opening makes 7 tricks. 

Trick 1. — Having no reason to lead trumps, even 
with five, and not having three honors in his long 
suit, A prefers the good short-suit lead in diamonds. 
Although Y has not the fourchette, the cards he holds 



ILLUSTRATIVE GAMES. 1 57 

below the king are strong enough to warrant him in 
forcing A-B to play two honors to win this trick. The 
fall of the cards leaves the jack the only card out 
against Y's diamonds. 

Trick 2. — B returns the supporting spade, which A 
finesses. 

Trick 3. — Y, being a long-suit player, proceeds to 
establish the diamond suit by leading one of the second 
and third-best. Z wins this trick in order to lead 
trumps, as he knows diamonds must be Y's suit and 
he has four good trumps and a card of re-entry in 
clubs. 

Trick 6. — Y leads a small club as the best chance 
to get his partner into the lead again to continue the 
trumps. Being a long-suit player, Z does not finesse 
the club jack. 

Trick 7. — Z cannot risk the continuation of the 
trumps, but prefers to force with the diamond suit. 

Trick 8. — A draws one of Z's trumps, and forces the 
other with the established spade suit. 

The rest of the hand plays itself. The result is a 
distinct gain of three tricks, which are made in the 
face of the best defensive play possible for Y-Z. A 
very little carelessness on the part of the long-suit 
players would have lost them three more tricks, mak- 
ing the gain of the short-suit play six tricks instead of 
three. For instance : On the original A might have 



158 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

played the king of trumps on the return of the suit, 
which would have made it possible for Z to draw both 
his trumps after one had been forced out by Y's dia- 
monds. This would have lost two tricks. Another 
would have been lost if Y had not covered the diamond 
queen on the overplay. 

I particularly wish to call the readers attention to 
the strengthening nature of the short-suit leads in this 
example. In the original, Z's short-suit lead of the 
diamond jack enables his partner to win two tricks in 
the suit; while the long-suit player with the same 
cards got none. In the overplay B's short-suit lead 
of spade jack enabled his partner to take three tricks 
in spades ; but in the original the player who led this 
suit got only one. In the trump suit, the short-suit 
player made three tricks by not leading them; while 
the player who lead them got two only. 

The next illustration furnishes us with another good 
example of hands to which the short-suit lead is clearly 
best adapted. In the original play, A and B are the 
long-suit players, and are opposed to the short-suit 
tactics of Y and Z. A is the original leader ; and 
hearts are declared trumps. 



ILLUSTRATIVE GAMES. 

Game No. 2. — Original. 



i59 



TRICK. 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


I 


* 7 


* 2 


*J 


*K 


2 


4* 


2* 


3* 


Q* 


1 


4 


7* 

8* 


J* 


9* 
10* 


6* 
5* 


A#> 


5 


2O 


~5C~ 


30 


Q0 


6 


JO 


AQ 


40 


10O 


7 


* 9 


* 4 


*Q 


* 3 


8 


•fr 10 


60 


K0 


70 


9 


<? J 


90 


80 


<? 7 


10 


*A 


* 5 


2 5 


* 6 


1 1 


^?K 


(?A 


o? 3 


<? 4 


12 


^ 6 


0>io 


^7Q 


<? 2 


13 


K* 


9 9 


V 8 


* 8 



The long-suit opening makes 5 tricks. 

Trick 1. — A has two four-card suits, and selects the 
stronger for his original lead. 

Trick 2. — Z cannot well return the adversaries' suit, 



l6o SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

so he selects the weaker of his three-card suits, and 
leads the supporting queen. In this case, the cards 
that accompany the king in A' s hand are not strong 
enough to warrant him in covering. If B does not 
hold the ace, he may trump the second round, or Y 
may be compelled to play the ace if Z cannot continue 
with another supporting card. 

Trick 4. — The spade 5 is marked in Z's hand, and 
the 10 in B's ; for if A had held the 10 with the king 
he would have covered the queen on the first trick. 
(See game No. 1.) So Y knows spades will go round 
again, and he makes his ace before B gets a chance to 

discard. 

f 

Trick 5. — Y has no good short-suit lead. 

Trick 7. — Y is forced to the club suit as the lesser of 
two evils. 

Trick 9. — Z's trumps are of no value, except to 
force higher trumps from A. 

We come now to the overplay of the same hand ; but 
the leader A, and his partner B, are short-suit players, 
while their adversaries, Y and Z believe in the long- 
suit game. 



ILLUSTRATIVE GAMKS. 

Game No. 2. — Overplayed. 



161 



TRICK. 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


I 
2 

3 


JO 


A0 


30 
9* 

K0 


70 

Q* 

10O 


24 

50 


20 


4 


* 7 


& 2 


*Q 


* 3 


5 


* 9 


* 4 


*J 


* 6 


6 


V 6 


6 


40 


QO 


7 


_*A 


* 5 


3* 


* 8 


8 


*io 


<? 9 


^?Q 


*K 


9 


<?J 


90 


80 


54 


10 


4* 


J» 


104 


6* 


1 1 


<?K 


<?A 


<? 3 


V 2 


12 
13 


7* 
84 


^?io 


9 5 

^ 8 


V 4 
<5> 7 


A* 



The short-suit opening makes 9 tricks. 

Trick 1. — Neither of A's long suits fulfil the first 
condition given in our rules for leading from four-card 
suits ; but he has a good short-suit lead in the dia- 



1 62 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

mond jack. Knowing it is a short-suit lead, B does 
not unblock. 

Trick 2. — Having no long suit, and the trump lead 
being out of the question, Y leads his strongest three- 
card suit, in preference to returning the adversaries' 
lead, which may be a singleton, for ought he knows. 

Trick 4. — B could force his partner at this stage ; 
but that would compel A to lead B's short and weak 
suit. It is much better for B to lead this suit himself, 
as it contains good supporting cards. The cards ac- 
companying Z's king are too small to justify him in 
covering. 

Trick 6. — By forcing his partner, B can now get him 
into the lead to make the winning club. 

Trick 8. — The discard of the spade 3 shows A that 
B must have played in from 10, 9, or J, 10, 9, and that 
he must still have another spade ; so A cannot force 
him in that suit. 

Trick 9. — Z's trumps are of no use to force A up, 
because A has already trumped with the 6, and can 
have nothing smaller. 

The four tricks gained on this hand are entirely due 
to the superiority of the short-suit tactics ; for it must 
be admitted that Y and Z made the best defense com- 
patible with the principles of the long- suit game. 

It may be remarked that some rash players would 
advise Y to play the trump ace at trick 8, and then to 



illustrative: games. 163 

lead trumps, in the hope of stopping the ruff. But the 
ruff cannot be stopped, and Y-Z would lose two tricks 
if they attempted it, for B would discard the spade 10. 
Then A would win the trump lead with the jack, and 
lead a spade for B to ruff. The return force in dia- 
monds would save A's trump king, and B's queen 
would win. 

The two foregoing hands illustrate the value of the 
short-suit, or strengthening-card lead. The next is an 
example of the advantage of not leading from tenace 
suits, and incidentally shows the value of the rule 
already given for the fourth hand : ' ' When as fourth 
player you win a trick in a suit in which you have no 
honor, you should at once return the lead." The 
game also furnishes a good example of intelligent 
trump-leading from three only, the fall of the cards 
having established several cards in the plain suits. 

In the original, A and B are long-suit players, 
while their adversaries, Y and Z are short-suiters. As 
before, A has the original lead, and hearts are declared 
trumps. 



64 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

Game No. 3. — Original. 



TRICK. 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


1 


A* 


»♦ 


3* 


84 


2 


5* 


6* 


9<£ 


J» 





JO 


A0 


40 


IO<> 


4 


* 4 


4»io 


*J 


*Q 


5 


* 6 


* 5 


* 2 


*A 


6 


4* 


* 7 


74 


~3*_ 


7 


* 3 


<9 4 


*K 


* 3 


8 


30 


2O 


Q0 


50 


9 


<J>io 


<7 J 


y 2 


V 6 


10 


10.4^ 


70 


K0 


60 


11 


Q4 


90 


80 


0? 9 


12 


V 3 


V 5 


^K 


<?Q 


13 


<? 7 


VA 


<? 8 


* 9 



The long-suit opening makes 4 tricks. 

Trick 1. — A follows the usual long-suit system of 
leading ace and then fourth-best, entirely disregarding 
the value of the double major tenace. 

Trick 3. — Z, being a short-suit player, wants his 



ILLUSTRATIVE GAMES. 1 65 

club tenace led up to, and also wishes to retain the 
command of the adverse suit; so he leads the top of 
his short-suit, the diamond 10. With only one card 
smaller than the jack, A covers. 

Trick 4. — Y returns the supporting club, which B 
covers, to prevent Z from finessing the 10. 

Trick 5. — Z knows both king and queen of diamonds 
are against him, so his best play is to make his club 
ace and then to give his partner a discard by leading 
the spade king. 

Trick 8. — Y is now forced to lead the diamond \ and 
hopes to establish the 9. 

Trick 9. — With the major tenace in diamonds in his 
own hand, and the two best spades marked in his part- 
ner's hand, B's best chance is to lead the trump. 

Trick 10. — Being a good tenace player, Y sees that 
he must throw the lead into B's hand again. If A had 
any means of knowing that his partner had the king, 
and not the queen of trumps, he might have played a 
grand coup by trumping this trick, and leading the 
trump through Y. 

Trick 11. — Whether B leads the diamond in the 
hope that his partner can win the trick by trumping, 
which will give him a lead through the ace, or leads 
the trump, makes no difference. If Z does not trump 
this trick, A will make a small trump, and B will still 
save his king. 

Let us now examine the overplay, in which A and B 
are short-suit players, and their adversaries, Y and Z, 
play the long-suit game. 



1 66 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

Game No. 3.— Overplayed. 



TRICK. 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


I 


JO 


AQ 


40 


50 


2 


<? 3 


9 4 


V 2 


^?Q 


3 


<?io 


<?A 


<? 8 


<? 9 


4 


S> 7 


^ 5 


^K 


<? 6 


5 


Q* 


»♦ 


9* 


J* 


6 


30 


*0 


Q0 


60 


7 


io£ 


6* 


74 


84 


8 


A*~ 


^7J 


3* 


K* 


9 


* 4 


•fclO 


*J 


*Q 


10 


* 6 


* 5 


* 2 


*A 


1 1 


* 8 


* 7 


*K 


* 9 


12 
13 


4* 
5* 


70 

9C 


K<> 


10O 
* 3 


80 



The short-suit opening makes six tricks. 

Trick 1. — Although A has three honors in his five- 
card suit, he does not lead it, because the cards form 
the double major tenace, and he has a good short-suit 
lead with the diamond jack. 



ILLUSTRATIVE GAMES. 1 67 

Trick 2. — Y's only four-card suit is the trump, and 
he follows the logic of the long-suit game by leading 
it, trusting that his partner has something in the plain 
suits. In this he is not far wrong, for his partner is 
pretty strong in everything but diamonds. But for 
the fac5l that Y knows A is a short-suit player, and 
that the diamond jack is not likely to have been led 
from KQJ and others, the trump lead would be very 
rash. 

Trick 3. — A's 10 is of no use except to prevent a 
possible finesse by Y. 

Trick 5. — With the command in diamonds, and 
minor tenace in clubs, B leads a supporting card in 
spades, which is the only suit that his partner can 
possibly have anything in. Z covers, to be sure that 
A shall be forced into the lead again. 

Trick 6. — A, still having major tenace in spades, 
A 10, over the K 8, leads the diamond again. 

Trick 7. — B, holding the vice tenace in diamonds, 
returns the spade suit. 

Trick 9. — Y leads the only suit his partner can have, 
and Z makes what tricks he can, continuing the suit to 
put B in with the king, so as to keep A out of the lead 
with his established spades. 



THE BATH COUP. 



There is a very pretty bit of strategy, which has 
been known for a hundred and fifty years as the ' ' Bath 
Coup, ' ' that offers itself when a player holds the vice 
tenace, A J +, and a king is led, presumably from 
KQ+. The natural tendency is to take the king at 
once with the ace, but I think this is a mistake. 

As a rule it may be assumed that when your adver- 
sary has both king and queen of a suit, one of them is 
sure to make a trick, and if you play your ace at once, 
you clear the suit, and leave him in command with 
the queen. It is possible, but improbable, that your 
partner has only one of the suit, and could ruff the 
queen; and it is not unlikely that the adversaries may 
lead trumps as soon as they find the suit established, 
and so draw your partner's trumps before he gets a 
chance to ruff. 

Let us suppose you pass the king, retaining com- 
mand of the adverse suit, and also holding tenace over 
the queen. The adversaries will often be misled by the 
king winning; and a trump lead will follow immedi- 
ately, or the original leader will continue with a small 
card. In the first case he is leading trumps for a suit 
in which you must win the next two tricks ; in the 
second case he is playing your game. 



TH£ BATH COUP. 169 

As you will probably lose your ace if the third hand 
is short in the suit, this coup is not usually recom- 
mended unless you are strong in trumps ; but I always 
practice it, regardless of trump strength or of being 
second or fourth hand. % 

The reader must be governed by circumstances in 
making this coup. If the adversaries are not likely 
to be deceived by your holding up the ace, do not 
attempt it unless strong in trumps, for you may lose a 
trick, and can only gain the one resulting from the 
tenace. But if you think the enemy are likely to be 
misled by the coup }^ou should adopt it by all means; 
for under the most unfavorable circumstances you lose 
only one trick, while you may gain three or four if 
the leader wrecks his hand by leading trumps under 
the impression that his suit is established. 

The following game is an illustration of the advant- 
age that may sometimes arise from the Bath Coup if 
the original leader falls into the error just spoken of, 
and leads trumps to support a suit which is supposed 
to be established. 

The original leader, A, is a long-suit player, while 
his right hand adversary is a short-suit player, who 
believes in the Bath Coup. 



170 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



Game No. 4. — Original. 



TRICK. 


A 


Y 


B 


z 


I 

2 


K* 


2* 

4 


3* 

OJ 


6* 
<9K 


V 3 


3 


AO 


40 


50 


Q0 


4 


^?A 


8 


<? 7 


<? 2 


' 5 


0? 5 


Q?Q 


9 


6 


6 


60 


Ko 


80 


20 


7 


<?io 


JO 


90 


3 


8 


7* 


9* 


10<jk 


J* 


9 


* 5 


*Q 


* A 


* 6 


10 


*J 


+ 3 


* 2 


+ K 


1 1 


5* 


* 4 


* 7 


♦ 10 


12 


8* 


70 


* 8 


* 9 


13 


Q* 


10O 


4* 


*♦. 



The Bath Coup makes 8 tricks for Y-Z. 

Trick 1. — The fall of the cards leads A to place the 
ace of his suit with B, and having a card of re-entry 
and four trumps, he leads the trumps. 



THE BATH COUP. 171 

Trick 3. — Z leads from a short suit, the strengthen- 
ing queen. A plays ace to continue the trumps. 

Trick 8. — A naturally thinks his spade suit is good 
for four of the remaining tricks, and leads his original 
fourth-best to his partner's supposed ace. 

Trick 10. — Knowing the spade ace is held up, B's 
best chance is to lead back the club. As Z can count 
A for three spades, he cannot finesse. 

We come now to the overplay of the same hand, Z 
not playing the Bath Coup, and not leading a strength- 
ening card when he gets in. 



172 



SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 



Game No, 4. — Overplayed. 



TRICK. 


A 


Y 


B 


Z 


I 


K* 


2* 


3* 


A» 


2 

3 


* 5 ' 

Q± 


*Q 

9* 


*A 


* 6 

J4» 


104 


4 


^?A 


V 4 


V 7 


<P 2 


5 


<? 3 


<b 8 


V J 


^K 


6 


*J 


* 3 


Jft 2 


j*K 


7 


<P 5 


* 4 


* 7 


4»io 


8 


<J?io 


9Q 


■<9 9 


^ 6 


9 


AO 


10O 


50 


2O 


10 
11 


8* 


40 
70 


4* 
* 8 


6* 

30 


7* 


12 


5* 


JO 


80 


QO 


13 


60 


KO 


90 


* 9 



Neglecting the Bath Coup makes 5 tricks for Y-Z. 

Trick 1. — Although A is a short-suit player, he 
finds his hand comes under the second of our rules for 
leading from long suits. He has a suit of five cards 



THK BATH COUP. 173 

with two honors, a card of re-entry in another suit, 
and four good trumps. Z, being a long-suit player, 
does not believe in the Bath Coup, and plays on the 
long-suit theory that the suit must go round three times 
for the ace and jack to win two tricks in it; and that 
one is just as likely to win the third round with the 
jack by playing the ace at once. 

Trick 2. — Z leads the fourth-best card of his long 
suit, instead of the strengthening queen. 

Trick 3. — B's partner having initiated the long-suit 
game, B would lead trumps if he had any strength in 
them; but with his weak hand he considers it best to 
give his partner a finesse in his original lead. Z 
covers, hoping to make the possible 9 good in his 
partner's hand. 

Trick 4. — A makes sure of two rounds of trumps. 
Trick 6. — Z naturally goes on with his clubs. 

Trick 8. — A can place the best trump with Y, and 
knows that he has only one club, if any, and that all 
the rest of his hand must be diamonds. If Y has a 
club, A can discard the diamond 6 on it, and then, no 
matter what is led, A will win all the rest of the tricks. 

Illustrative games in diagram are very popular with 
most writers on whist, and their works usually con- 
tain numbers of them. Most of these are really noth- 
ing but problems in double-dummy, for the author 
makes the players perform the most astounding feats 



174 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

of inference and calculation, for which inspiration 
would be a better name. This is comparatively easy 
when the player has all four hands before him ; but in 
the games I have reproduced I have endeavored to 
represent as nearly as possible the play of four players 
of good ordinary ability. While I could go on with 
such examples indefinitely, I think these contain 
enough examples of tenace and short-suit play to put 
the student on the right track. Once properly started, 
he will profit more from actual practice than from any 
study of diagrams. 



THE OPPONENT OF THE SHORT- SUIT 
PL A YEP. 



So far we have treated the short-suit game chiefly 
from the stand-point of the short-suit player, giving no 
consideration to the attitude of the opponents. If four 
short-suit players sit down to the same table, it becomes 
a game in which Greek meets Greek, and the winning 
side must be the one with the best Greeks; — those pos- 
sessing greater skill at the game, superior ability to 
draw correct inferences from the fall of the cards, and 
to make use of the information thus obtained. 

It may happen that while paired with a long-suit 
player, and adapting your game to his, you discover that 
your opponents are short-suit players ; or you may find 
at least one of them adopting the short-suit leads. In 
either case it immediately becomes important that you 
should know what defensive tactics you can resort to 
in order to nullify any advantage that such adversaries 
are likely to gain from their short-suit play. 

The highest card of the leader's weakest suit is led 
to " strengthen " his partner's hand, by permittiug the 
latter to pass it, retaining his high cards in that suit, 
while the fourth player may have to play a dispropor- 
tionately high card in order to win the trick. It ob- 
viously follows that if the leader's partner cannot pass 



176 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

the card led, but is compelled to play his highest card, 
his hand is weakened instead of strengthened. To 
bring this about the second hand should follow this 
rule : — 

If your right hand opponent makes a short- 
suit lead, cover his card if you can. 

In the notes accompanying illustrative game No. 1 , 
attention was called to the fact that if Y had not covered 
the diamond queen led by A, A-B would have gained 
another trick, for the queen would have won, and A 
would have led through the king again. 

Some discrimination is necessary in covering the 
lead, if the card led and the one with which you can 
cover are both small, it may be better for you to pass. 
For instance : If you hold the 10 and three others 
you would probably gain nothing by covering a 9 led ; 
while by waiting there is a possibility of winning a 
trick with your 10. 

If 3'our right-hand adversary leads a short suit, it 
may be well for you to return the suit when you get 
into the lead. 

This is simpty an application of the old principle of 
leading up to the weak hand ; and if both }^our adver- 
saries lead from short suits, you and your partner can 
attend to the enemy on each other's right. In decid- 
ing on returning such a suit, you must be guided by 
the cards in your own hand, and by your partner's 
play on the first round. If your partner's play shows 
that he cannot hold any card higher than the strength- 



OPPONENT OF SHORT-SUIT PLAYER. 



177 



ening card originally led, the return of the suit 
would be risky, unless you could underplay your left- 
hand adversary, with a card which you think he would 
not cover. 

Suppose you are Y and hold 



4. 4. 
4. * 



♦"♦ 


4. * 


* 1 


4. 4. 






*_* 


4. 4. 


_J*_ 



Let us further suppose the cards to the first trick to 
fall in airy of the three following ways : — 



I* ^ 1 



* 




* 
4. 


*** 

*** 
*** 



In the first instance you cannot tell whether A has 



I7» SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

led from a short suit or not ; but you know that both 
K and Q are against you, because your partner had to 
play the ace to win the jack. It would be folly to re- 
turn such a suit. 

In the second instance the fall of the jack marks the 
10 as led from a short suit. When you get into the 
lead, if you do not want to lead trumps, and have no 
good suit of your own, it may be very advantageous to 
return A's lead, for your partner may have higher 
cards than the jack. 

In the third instance, your partner's king shows that 
the jack was a short-suit lead. You know A to be 
weak, and if }^ou have no better play the suit may be 
returned, as it is not improbable that your partner has 
the ace. 

It must be borne in mind in returning the lead of a 
short-suit opponent that his suit is probably one of two 
cards only , and that you cannot risk leading it to him 
more than once. If two rounds of the suit have been 
played before you get in, it will not be safe to lead 
it a third time, for that would be giving the original 
leader the very opportunity he wants, — to ruff the suit. 

After trumps are out, the short-suit lead of your 
right hand adversary may be returned with impunity, 
especially if you have no established suit of your own, 
or cannot lead your partner his. In returning such 
suits always play your highest card, so as to give your 
partner the finesse against the original leader, and to 
keep any medium high card on your left hemmed in, 
For instance; — ■ 



OPPONENT OP SHORT-SUIT PLAYER. 



179 



* * 
a*a 



A A 
A A 



* 



•7* '-'* V 



*A* 
A A 

A A 





Y 


B 

Z 
A 


1 * 
1 


* * 
* 




gipp SK* 




-*^— ... ->'■ .';, 


* 

* * * * 


HK 


1* -& 




* * 1 




****! 


A -J. A 



A leads the jack original^, you are Y, and your 
partner wins with the king. The trumps come out, 
and you find yourself in the lead. You know the 
original lead was from a weak suit, and although you 
cannot locate the ace with certainty, your best play is 
the 10 if you are going to return this suit. As the 
cards lie in the diagram, this will hem in the queen, 
and give your partner a certain finesse. 

Beyond advising covering the lead if possible, and 
returning it with discretion, specific directions for 
thwarting short-suit tactics cannot well be given, 
which would seem an additional argument in favor of 
that style of play. When all four are short-suit play- 
ers, the contest becomes one of skill alone. 



SUGGESTIONS. 



Taken as a whole, the main object of this work is 
directly opposed to the generally accepted and orthodox 
method of playing whist; bnt in all minor points I have 
endeavored, as far as possible, to adhere to conven- 
tional rules. 

In this chapter, however, I wish to offer a few argu- 
ments in favor of a departure from some of the con- 
ventional leads. Since whist players are so stubbornly 
conservative, I have ventured to class them as ' ' sug- 
gestions " only, although I think they will be found 
worthy of consideration. The reader must decide for 
himself whether or not to adopt them. 

King, Queen and Others. 

In our chapter on the short-suit game, I called atten- 
tion to the advantage of having such combinations as 
K J 10 x, and K Q x x led up to, instead of led from. 
But even though you area convert to my ideas, it may 
happen that you cannot avoid leading from one of 
these. In such cases I should advise a departure from 
the conventional lead, and would begin with the small 
card. 



Suppose you hold 



i§ 


JEjj 


* 


4, 


mm 


iSy 


_A_ 


* 



SUGGESTIONS. l8l 

The lead of the king forces the ace and leaves you in 
command with the queen; but the queen is the only 
trick you will get in the suit, for the deuce and trey 
are utterly valueless. On the contrary, if you begin 
with the deuce, and partner has the jack, fourth hand 
the ace, your king and queen are established in one 
round. So if second hand holds the jack, partner the 
10 and fourth hand the ace. Even if partner has no 
strength in the suit and the first trick goes to the 9,10, 
or jack, you can play the trey on the ace if it is led, 
and still remain with two established cards, which may 
be worth leading trumps to defend. Altogether it seems 
to me that there is a greater probability of gain than of 
loss by leading the small card. 

The same is true of the lead of a small card from K 
J 10 x, and it is now led from this combination by a 
great many of our best players. 

I come now to a very different matter, as Mr. Kip- 
ling would say: " another story." 1 introduce it 
here among my suggestions, because it is radical in its 
nature ; but I am sufficiently convinced of its sound- 
ness to have wished to give it a place among the con- 
ventional leads. This is the imperative leading of a 
singleton trump when you have at least three cards of 
each plain suit. 

One Trump. 

The modern books tell us that there is only one sin- 
gleton lead admissible, and that is the trump ace. 
From this dictum I have already ventured to differ in 



1 82 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

the chapter on the .short-suit game. I stated that with 
a tenace, or second best only once guarded in each of 
the plain suits, a .singleton trump might be used to 
throw the lead, as readily as any other card. I fail to 
see how any one can gainsay that it is to your advant- 
age to have trumps out if you hold more than average 
strength in each of the plain suits. In such a case the 
lead of a trump singleton must be for the benefit of 
your hand. Without tenaces of more than average 
strength, but with at least three cards in each of the 
plain suits, I would still advise die lead of the single- 
ton trump. There is no possible chance to use your 
one trump for ruffing, therefore it is useless except for 
leading. If your partner wins the first round, or gets 
into the lead later on, he will draw two trumps for one, 
which is universally acknowledged to be a most effect- 
ive play. It will often happen that you will anticipate 
a trump call from your partner, and your lead will then 
be mutually beneficial. 

These favorable considerations may be offset by the 
objection that your partner may have only one or two 
small trumps, and a short suit which he could have 
ruffed. vSuch a condition must leave ten trumps be- 
tween your opponents, and they will lead them the 
moment they get in. 

If you have a strong suit which is also your longest, 
but have no card of re-entry, it may be well to show 
your suit before leading the singleton trump, especially 
if you can do so with a winning card. The following 
are examples of hands in which it is not necessary to 



SUGGESTIONS. 183 

show the suit at all, and from which the singleton 
trump should be lead at once : 

V 6; * A, 10,8,7,4; OQ.J, 10,6; * J, 10,5. 

V Q; 4kJ,8,6; K,J, 7 , 5; * 10,8,7,6,5. 
Z> 5 ; 4 K, 9, 6, 5 ; A, 9, 4, 2 ; * K, Q, 6, 2. 

But with a hand in which there is a short suit, and 
any chance for a ruff on the third round, the lead of 
the singleton trump would not be advisable. Such a 
hand is the following: 

0? 10 ; 4 Q, 9 ; K, J, 9, 3, 2 ; £ A, 10, 9, 7, 2. 

The spade queen is the best lead from this hand. 

An exception to the lead of a singleton trump should 
be made when it is a king, which stands a better chance 
of winning a trick when it is not led. So the rule may 
be formulated thus : 

Holding three cards in each plain suit, and 
any singleton trump other than the king, 
lead the trump. 



CONCLUSION. 



I believe the preceding pages contain the first sys- 
tematic effort at placing before the whist-playing pub- 
lic a text book on the short-suit game containing an 
amplification of the principles of that style of play. 
Many works exist that treat the long-suit game almost 
exhaustively, but this is an attempt to outline the 
short-suit game in as brief and simple a manner as 
possible. 

The long-suit game is admirably adapted to a fine 
hand; but such hands are sadly in the minority. The 
short-suit game provides for the great majority of 
hands, which are only moderately strong, or woefully 
weak; and the gist of this provision is expressed in 
our golden precept; "Every card, individually, is 
more valuable when led up to than when led." 

By " individually " is meant not joined with others 
in sufficient numbers to form a combination from which 
one may be led with advantage. When you have no 
such combination, it is always more to your advantage 
to play fourth hand, or even third or second, than to 
lead in that suit. 

As you cannot avoid leading altogether, your re- 
source must be to lead from suits which promise the 
least loss of value by being led away from; that is to 
say, your numerically and intrinsically weak suits. 



CONCLUSION. 185 

Having selected your weakest suit for the sacrifice, 
your next consideration is to select the card that is 
most likely to assist your partner, and that is your 
highest. It then becomes your partner's duty to 
finesse with depth and discretion, retaining and pro- 
moting his own high cards in the suit. When he in 
turn sacrifices a suit to you, you must follow the same 
course, and finesse the card led if you can. 

Both should preserve tenaces as far as possible, and 
keep a bright lookout for opportunities to cross-ruff. 

If partner's weak suit is led through you, you must 
protect it if you can, and your partner will similarly 
protect your weak suits. 

In these few paragraphs you have a concise epitome 
of the short-suit game, the especial function of which 
may be said to be the making the most of ordinary 
hands, which will include at least three-fourths of all 
that are dealt at whist. 

It is not absolutely essential to your adoption of the 
.short-suit game that your partner should be familiar 
with it. You need only warn him not to return your 
lead unless convinced that you have led from strength. 
You can still preserve your tenaces and lead strength- 
ening cards or short suits with an eye to cross-ruffing, 
instead of striving after impossibilities, and playing 
into your opponent's hands by endeavoring to establish 
four-card suits headed by 8's or io's. 

The writer for a long time refrained from adopting 
the short-suit game himself, although convinced of its 
vsuperiority in most cases, and thoroughly familiar with 



1 86 SHORT-SUIT WHIST. 

it in theory, simply because he could find no partner 
to play it with him. Finally it occured to him always 
before beginning a game, to ask his partner not to 
return his lead unless some positive indication was 
given that it was from a long suit. As a result he won 
the next thirteen games, and after losing the fourteenth, 
twelve more before losing another. Before that he had 
considered the winning of three successive games quite 
a triumph. 

If 3 t ou have a partner with whom you are frequently 
paired, and who will join you in studying this little 
work, so much the better for you both. If not so for- 
tunate, follow the plan I have recommended, and ' ' go 
it alone. ' ' If your partner can only be depended on 
not to return your weak leads, you will be rewarded by 
an immediate and marked improvement in your record. 

You will find many persons who believe in playing 
by machinery, and in the utter exclusion of all inno- 
vations, and such will tell you that this is all nonsense. 
Console yourself with the thought that many persons 
told Galileo and Columbus that they were talking non- 
sense. If your objecl is to win, put this system to the 
test; I am perfectly willing to abide by the issue. 

It is the sincere wish of the author that his readers 
may accumulate proof of the soundness of this little 
treatise on the Short-Suit Game by winning, and he 
trusts they will enjoy both the game and the gains. 



The Laws of Whist 



As Revised and Adopted at the Third American Whist 
Congress, Chicago, June 20-24, 1893. 



THE GAME. 

I. A game consists of seven points, each trick above six 
counting one. The value of the game is determined by deduct- 
ing the losers' score from seven. 

FORMING THE TABLE. 

II. Those first in the room have the preference. If, by 
reason of two or more arriving at the same time, more than 
four assemble, the preference among the last comers is deter- 
mined by cutting, a lower cut giving the preference over all 
cutting higher. A complete table consists of six ; the four 
having the preference play. Partners are determined by cut- 
ting ; the highest two play against the lowest two ; the lowest 
deals, and has the choice of seats and cards. 

III. If two players cut intermediate cards of equal value, 
they cut again ; the lower of the new cut plays with the orig- 
inal lowest. 

IV. If three players cut cards of equal value, they cut again. 
If the fourth has cut the highest card, the lowest two of the 
new cut are partners, and the lowest deals. If the fourth has 
cut the lowest card, he deals, and the highest two of the new 
cut are partners. 

V. At the end of a game, if there are more than four belong- 
ing to the table, a sufficient number of the players retire to 
admit those awaiting their turn to play. In determining which 
players remain in, those who have played a less number of 
consecutive games have the preference over all who have 
played a greater number; between two or more who have 

187 



played an equal number, the preference is determined by cut- 
ting, a lower cut giving the preference over all cutting higher. 

VI. To entitle one to enter a table, he must declare his in- 
tention to do so before any one of the players has cut for the 
purpose of commencing a new game or of. cutting out. 

CUTTING. 

VII. In cutting, the ace is the lowest card. All must cut 
from the same pack. If a player exposes more than one card, 
he must cut again. Drawing cards from the outspread pack 
may be resorted to in place of cutting. 

SHUFFLING. 

VIII. Before every deal, the cards must be shuffled. When 
two packs are used, the dealer's partner must collect and 
shuffle the cards for the ensuing deal and place them at his 
right hand. In all cases the dealer may shuffle last. 

IX. A pack must not be shuffled during the play of a hand, 
nor so as to expose the face of any card. 

CUTTING TO THE DEALER. 

X. The dealer must present the pack to his right-hand adver- 
sary to be cut ; the adversary must take a portion from the 
top of the pack, and place it towards the dealer; at least four 
cards must be left in each packet; the dealer must reunite the 
packets by placing the one not removed in cutting upon the 
other. 

XI. If, in cutting or in reuniting the separate packs, a card 
is exposed, the pack must be reshuffled by the dealer and cut 
again ; if there is any confusion of the cards, or doubt as to the 
place where the pack was separated, there must be a new cut. 

XII. If the dealer reshuffles the pack after it has been prop- 
erly cut, he loses his deal. 

DEALING. 

XIII. When the pack has been properly cut and reunited, 
the dealer must distribute the cards, one at a time, to each 
player in regular rotation, beginning at his left. The last, 
which is the trump card, must be turned up before the dealer. 



At the end of the hand, or when the deal is lost, the deal passes 
to the player next to the dealer on his left,. and so on to each 
in turn. 

XIV. There must be a new deal by the same dealer: — 

I. If any card except the last is faced in the pack. 

II. If, during the deal or during the play of the hand, the 
pack is proved incorrect or imperfect ; but any prior score 
made with that pack shall stand. 

XV. If, during the deal, a card is exposed, the side not in 
fault may demand a new deal, provided neither of that side 
has touched a card. If a new deal does not take place, the 
exposed card is not liable to be called. 

XVI. Any one dealing out of turn or with his adversaries' 
pack, may be stopped before the trump card is turned, after 
which, the deal is valid, and the packs, if changed, so remain. 

MISDEALING. 

XVII. It is a misdeal:— 

I. If the dealer omits to have the pack cut, and his adver- 
saries discover the error before the trump card is turned, and 
before looking at any of their cards. 

II. If he deals a card incorrectly, and fails to correct the 
error before dealing another. 

in. If he counts the cards on the table or in the remainder 
of the pack. 

IV. If, having a perfect pack, he does not deal to each player 
the proper number of cards, and the error is discovered before 
all have played to the first trick. 

V. If he looks at the trump card before the deal is completed, 
vi. If he places the trump card face downwards upon his 

own or any other player's cards. 

A misdeal loses the deal, unless, during the deal, either of 
the adversaries touches a card, or in any other manner inter- 
rupts the dealer. 

THE TRUMP CARD. 

XVIII. The dealer must leave the trump card face upwards 

189 



on the table until it is his turn to play to the first trick ; if it is 
left on the table until after the second trick has been turned 
and quitted, it is liable to be called. After it has been lawfully 
taken up, it must not be named, and any player naming it is 
liable to have his highest or his lowest trump called by either 
adversary. A player may, however, ask what the trump suit is. 

IRREGULARITIES IN THE HANDS. 

XIX. If, at any time after all have played to the first trick, 
the pack being perfect, a player is found to have either more 
or less than his correct number of cards, and his adversaries 
have their right number, the latter, upon the discovery of such 
surplus or deficiency, may consult and shall have the choice : — 

I. To have a new deal ; or, 

II. To have the hand played out ; in which case the surplus 
or missing card or cards are not taken into account. 

If either of the adversaries also has more or less than his 
correct number, there must be a new deal. 

If any player has a surplus card by reason of an omission 
to play to a trick, his adversaries can exercise the foregoing 
privilege only after he has played to the trick following the one 
in which such omission occurred. 

CARDS LIABLE TO BE CALLED. 

XX. The following cards are liable to be called by either 
adversary : 

I. Every card faced upon the table otherwise than in the 
regular course of play, but not including a card led out of turn. 

II. Every card thrown with the one led or played to the cur- 
rent trick. The player must indicate the one led or played. 

HI. Every card so held by a player that his partner sees any 
portion of its face. 

IV. All the cards in a hand lowered or shown by a player so 
that his partner sees more than one card of it. 

v. Every card named by the player holding it. 

XXI. All cards liable to be called must be placed, and left 
face upward, on the table. A player must lead or play them 



when they are called, provided he can do so without revoking 1 . 
The call may be repeated at each trick until the card is played, 
A player cannot be prevented from leading or playing a card 
liable to be called; if he can get rid of it in the course of play, 
no penalty remains. 

XXII. If a player leads a card better than any of his adver- 
saries hold of the suit, and then leads one or more other cards 
without waiting for his partner to play, the latter may he called 
upon by either adversary to take the first trick, and the other 
cards thus improperly played are liable to be called ; it makes 
no difference whether he plays them one after the other, or 
throws them all on the table together, after the first card is 
played, the others are liable to be called. 

XXIII. A player having a card liable to be called must not 
play another until the adversaries have stated whether or not 
they wish to call the card liable to the penalty. If he plays 
another card without awaiting the decision of the adversaries, 
such other card also is liable to be called. 

LEADING OUT OF TURN. 

XXIV. If any player leads out of turn, a suit may be called 
from him or his partner, the first time it is the turn of either of 
them to lead. The penalty can be enforced only by the adver- 
sary on the right of the player from whom a suit can lawfully 
be called. 

If a player, so called on to lead a suit, has none of it, or if 
all have played to the false lead, no penalty can be enforced. 
If all have not played to the trick, the cards erroneously played 
to such false lead are not liable to be called, and must be 
taken back. 

PLAYING OUT OF TURN. 

XXV. If the third hand plays before the second, the fourth 
hand also may play before the second. 

XXVI. If the third hand has not played and the fourth hand 
plays before the second, the latter may be called upon by the 
third hand to play his highest or lowest card of the suit led, or 
if he has none, to trump or not to trump the trick. 



ABANDONED HANDS. 

XXVII. If all four players throw their cards on the table, 
face upwards, no further play of that hand is permitted. The 
result of the hand, as then claimed or admitted, is established, 
provided that if a revoke is discovered, the revoke penalty 
attaches. 

REVOKING. 

XXVIII. A revoke is a renounce in error, not corrected in 
time. A player renounces in error, when, holding one or more 
cards of the suit led, he plays a card of a different suit. 

A renounce in error may be corrected by the player making 
it, before the trick in which it occurs has been turned and 
quitted, unless either he or his partner, whether in his right 
turn or otherwise, has led or played to the following trick, or 
unless his partner has asked whether or not he has any of the 
suit renounced. 

XXIX. If a player corrects his mistake in time to save a 
revoke, the card improperly played by him is liable to be called; 
any player or players, who have played after him, may withdraw 
their cards and substitute others; the cards so withdrawn are 
not liable to be called. 

XXX. The penalty for revoking is the transfer of two tricks 
from the revoking side to their adversaries ; it can be enforced 
for as many revokes as occur during the hand. The revoking 
side cannot win the game in that hand ; if both sides revoke, 
neither can win the game in that hand. 

XXXI. The revoking player and his partner may require the 
hand in which the revoke has been made, to be played out, and 
may score all points made by them up to the score of six. 

XXXII. At the end of a hand, the claimants of a revoke 
may search all the tricks. If the cards have been mixed, the 
claim may be urged and proved if possible ; but no proof is 
necessary and the revoke is established, if, after it has been 
claimed, the accused player or his partner mixes the cards 
before they have been examined to the satisfaction of the 
adversaries. 



XXXIII. The revoke may be claimed at any time before the 
cards have been presented and cut for the following deal, but 
not thereafter. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

XXXIV. Any one, during the play of a trick and before the 
cards have been touched for the purpose of gathering them 
together, may demand that the players draw their cards. 

XXXV. If any one, prior to his partner playing, calls atten- 
tion in any manner to the trick or to the score, the adversary 
last to play to the trick may require the offender's partner to 
play his highest or lowest of the suit led, or, if he has none, to 
trump or not to trump the trick. 

XXXVI. If any player says, " I can win the rest," " The 
rest are ours," " We have the game," or words to that effect, 
his partner's cards must be laid upon the table, and are liable 
to be called. 

XXXVII. When a trick has been turned and quitted, it must 
not again be seen until after the hand has been played. A 
violation of this law subjects the offender's side to the same 
penalty as in the case of a lead out of turn. 

XXXVIII. If a player is lawfully called upon to play the 
highest or lowest of a suit, or to trump or not to trump a trick, 
or to lead a suit, and unnecessarily fails to comply, he is liable 
to the same penalty as if he had revoked. 

XXXIX. In all cases where a penalty has been incurred, 
the offender must await the decision of the adversaries. If 
either of them, with or without his partner's consent, demands 
a penalty, to which they are entitled, such decision is final. If 
the wrong adversary demands a penalty, or a wrong penalty is 
demanded, none can be enforced. 



I/aws for Duplicate Whist. 



Duplicate Whist is governed by the laws of whist, except in 
so far as they are modified by the following special laws: 

THE GAME AND THE SCORE. 

Law A. A game or match consists of any agreed number 
of deals, each of which is played once only by each player. 

The contesting teams must be of the same number, but may 
each consist of any agreed number of pairs, one-half of which, 
or as near thereto as possible, sit north and south, the other 
half east and west. 

Every trick taken is scored, and the match is determined by 
a comparison of the aggregate scores won by the competing 
teams. In case the teams consist of an odd number of pairs, 
each team, in making up such aggregate, adds, as though won 
by it, the average score of all the pairs seated in the positions 
opposite to its odd pair. 

Each side keeps its own score, and it is the duty of the north 
and south players at each table to compare the scores there 
made, and see that they correspond. In case they fail to per- 
form this duty, the east and west scores are taken as correct, 
and the north and south scores made to correspond thereto. 

In a match between two teams, the team which wins a ma- 
jority of all the tricks scores the match as won by the number 
of tricks which it has taken in excess of one-half the total. 

In a match between more than two teams, each team wins 
or loses, as the case may be, by the number of tricks which its 
aggregate score exceeds or falls short of the average score of 
all the competing teams. 

In taking averages, fractions are disregarded, and the near- 
est whole number taken, one-half counting as a whole, unless 
it is necessary to take the fraction into account to avoid a tie, 
in which case the match is scored as won, by the fraction of a 
trick. 

'94 



FORMING THE TABLE. 
Law B. Tables may be formed by cutting, or by agreement 
In two-table duplicate, if the tables are formed by cutting, 
the four having the preference play at one table, and the next 
four at the other. The highest two at one table are partners 
with the lowest two at the other. The highest two at each 
table sit north and south ; the lowest two east and west. 
DEALING AND MISDEALING. 

Law C. The deal is never lost ; in case of a misdeal, or of 
the exposure of a card during the deal, the cards must be 
redealt by the same player. 

THE TRUMP CARD. 

Law D. The trump card must be recorded before the play 
begins, on a slip provided for that purpose. When the deal 
has been played, the slip on which the trump card has been 
recorded must be placed by the dealer on the top of his cards, 
but the trump card must not again be turned until the hands 
are taken up for the purpose of overplaying them, at which 
time it must be turned and left face upward on the table until 
it is the dealer's turn to play to the first trick. The slip on 
which the trump card is recorded must be turned face down- 
ward as soon as the trump card is taken up by the dealer. 

IRREGULARITIES IN THE HANDS. 

Law E. If a player is found to have either more or less 
than his correct number of cards, the course to be pursued is 
determined by the time at which the irregularity is discovered. 

I. Where the irregularity is discovered before or during the 
original play of a hand, there must be a new deal. 

II. Where the irregularity is discovered when the hand is 
taken up for overplay, and before such overplay has begun, the 
hand in which the irregularity is so discovered must be sent 
back to the table from which it was last received, and the 
error there be rectified. 

III. Where such irregularity is not discovered until after the 
overplay has begun : 



In two-table duplicate there must be a new deal ; but in a 
game in which the same hands are played at more than two 
tables, the hands must be rectified as above, and then passed 
to the next table, without overplay at the table at which the 
error was discovered, in which case, if a player had a deficiency 
and his adversary the corresponding surplus, each team takes 
the average score for that deal ; if, however, the partner of the 
player having the deficiency had the corresponding surplus, his 
team is given the lowest score made at any table for that deal. 

PLAYING THE CARDS. ' 

Law F. Each player, when it is his turn to play, must 
place his card face upward before him, and toward the centre 
of the table, and allow it to remain upon the table in this posi- 
tion until all have played to the trick, when he must turn it 
over, place it face downward, and nearer to himself, placing 
each successive card, as he turns it, on the top of the last card 
previously turned by him. After he has played his card, and 
also after he had turned it he must quit it by removing his hand. 

A trick is turned and quitted when all four players have 
turned and quitted their respective cards. 

The cards must be left in the order in which they were played 
until the scores for the deal are recorded. 

CLAIMING A REVOKE. 

Law G. A revoke may be claimed at any time before the 
last trick of the deal in which it occurs has been turned and 
quitted, and the scores of that deal recorded, but not thereafter. 



The Etiquette of Whist. 



As Adopted by the Third American Whist Congress, 
Chicago, June 20-24, J ^93' 



The following rules belong to the established code of Whist 
Etiquette. They are formulated with a view to discourage 
and repress certain improprieties of conduct, therein pointed 



196 



out, which are not reached by the laws. The courtesy which 
marks the intercourse of gentlemen will regulate other more 
obvious cases. 

I. No conversation should be indulged in during the play 
except such as is allowed by the laws of the game. 

II. No player should in any manner whatsoever give any in- 
timation as to the state of his hand or of the game, or of approval 
or disapproval of a play. 

III. No player should lead until the preceding trick is turned 
and quitted. 

IV. No player should, after having led a winning card, draw a 
card from his hand for another lead until his partner has played 
to the current trick. 

V. No player should play a card in any manner so as to call 
particular attention to it, nor should he demand that the cards 
be placed in order to attract the attention of his partner. 

VI. No player should purposely incur a penalty because he 
is willing to pay it, nor should he make a second revoke in 
order to conceal one previously made. 

VII. No player should take advantage of information im- 
parted by his partner through a breach of etiquette. 

VIII. No player should object to referring a disputed ques- 
tion of fact to a bystander who professes himself uninterested 
in the result of the game and able to decide the question. 

IX. Bystanders should not in any manner call attention to or 
give any information concerning the play or the state of the 
game, during the play of a hand. They should not look over 
the hand of a player without his permission ; nor should they 
walk around the table to look at the different hands. 



INDEX 



Aces, Value of, 30 
" Catching Small Cards, 38 
" Holding Up, 169 
Ace Leads, 72 

King Alone, 85 
Queen Alone, 86 
Jack Alone, 86 
and One Small, 86 
King Jack Finesse, 56, 112, 
114 
" Never Led from Short 
Suits, 93 
Advantage of a Uniform Sys- 
tem, 13 
" the Long - Suit 

System, 13 
" Self-Reliance,69 

Old-Style Leads, 

71 
Being Led Up 
to, 105 
" Continual Prac- 

tice, 174 
American Leads, 70 

" " Disadvantage 

of, 71 
" Whist Laws, 187 

Assisting Partner by Certain 
Leads, 185. 



Authorities who Advocate the 
Long- Suit Game, 
12 
" who Advocate the 

Short- Suit Game, 
12 
Average Gains from Finessing, 

62 
Avoid Leading from Tenaces, 

36, 37 
" " Singleton Kings 

or Aces, 90 
" Guessing at Suit to Lead, 
123 

Bath Coup, 117, 170 

Beginner's Preference for Ruff- 
ing, 63 

Bond Stowe's Rules, 100 

Brains Necessary for the Short- 
Suit Game, 125 

Cheap Tricks, 41 
Choosing Between Two Sys- 
tems, 126 
" Lesser of Two Evils, 

132 
" Suits to Lead, 127 



197 



Classes of Wlnst Players, 10 
Comparative Value of Long and 

Short-Suit Play, 14 
Conventional Leads, 70, 80, 92 
Covering Second Hand, 149, 

156, 176 
Cross-Ruffing, 63 
Cross-Ruff, Establishing, 65 
" Examples of, 66 

Danger of Waiting Too Long, 

107 
Deciding Between Systems, 132 
Deceiving Partner, 67 

" Adversaries, 67 

Definitions, General, 19 to 25 
Definition of Finesse, 52 

" Fourchette, 148 

" Cross-Ruffing, 63 

" Long-Suit, 85 

Short- Suit, 85 
" Passing, 140 

Derivation of the Word " Ten- 
ace," 26 
Detecting Short-Suit Leads, 92, 

100 
Different Systems of Leads, 70 
Difference Between J and K 

Leads, yy 
Difficulty of Understanding 

Small Cards Led, 87, 102 
Directing Long-Suit Partners, 

186 
Disadvantage of Eccentric Play, 
69 
" American Leads, 

71 



Disadvantage of Leading a 
Nine from 
Strength, 79 
" Leading from K, 

Q, 106, 180 
" Leading from 

"K, J, io ( " 
107, 181 
Division of the Tenaces, 41 

Eccentric Play, Disadvantage 

of, 69 
Echo in Plain Suits 136 
Eleven Rule, 61, 140 
Error of Leading Tenace Suits, 

3°- 3 6 
Establishing Tenace in Course 
of Play, 34 
" a Cross-Ruff, 65 

" Suits for Adver- 

saries, 68 
" Intermediate 

Cards, 145 
Examples of Finessing, 53, 60 
" Cross-Ruffing, 66 

" Choosing Suits, 

127 
" Original Leads, 

109 
Singletons, 67,11 8, 
119 
Exhausting Trumps, 114 
Experiment with Short Suits, 14 
Exposing Weakness, 68 

Few Hands Adapted to Long- 
Suit System, 184 



198 



Finding Partner to Play with, 

1 86 
Five Card Suits, Value of, 132 
Finesse, 52 

Hamilton's Definition 
of, 52 
" Varieties of, 52 
" Examples of, 53, 60 
" Second Hand, 54 
Third Hand, 53 
Obligatory, 58 
When Not to, 61 
" Two Forms Usually 
Recommended, 61 
with A, K, J, 56, 112, 
114 
Finesses that Must Lose the 

Trick, 59 
Finessing Cards Led, 55 

" with Strong Trumps, 

56 
" Partner's Leads, 57 

Returned Suits, 59 
" Against Certain Com- 
binations, 59 
" to Place the Lead, 62 
" in Trumps, 144 
" Judgment Required 

in, 61 
" Average Gains from, 
62 
Jack, with A K, 56 
" Importance of, in the 
Short - Suit Game, 
62 
Following Ace Led, 72 
'• King Led, 74 

" Queen Led, 75 

Short-Suit Leads, 135 



Foster's Eleven Rule, 6r, 140 
Rule for J and? K 
Leads, JJ 
" Rule for Locating 
Tenaces, 41 
Forced Leads, 11 
Force, Inviting a, 44 
FourcheUe, 148 
Fourth-best Leads, 79 
Frequency of Loss from 

Neglecting Tenace, 28, 48 
Fundamental Principle of the 
Short-Suit Game, 105 

Games Illustrating Short-Prin- 
ciples, 152, et seq. 

Gains from Finessing, 62 
" from Short- Suit Play, 14 

Giving up Tenaces, 37 

G. W. P.'s Object in Whist, 66 

Guessing at Suits to Lead, 123 

Hemming in Medium Cards, 

179 
Higher of Two Cards Led, 87 
Holding Back Moderately 
Strong Suits, 147 
" Up Aces, 169 

How to Improve in Play, 11 

Ignorance of Tenace, 26 
Illustration of Tenace Theory, 

29 
" Strengthening 

Card Leads, 

146 
Illustrative Games, 152 



199 



Imperfect Tenaces, 44 
Importance of Tenace Being 
Led Up to, 49 
" Practice at 

Whist, 51 
Second Hand 
Play, 149 
" Finesse in the 

Short- Suit 
Game, 62 
Increased Value of Five-Card 

Suits, 132 
Increasing the Value of Part 

ner's Cards, 146 
Intermediate Cards, Promoting, 
H5 
Establish- 
ing, 145 
Inviting a Force, 44 
Irregular Leads, How Recog- 
nized. 93 

Jack Leads, y6 
" Led from Short Suits, 96 
" and One Other, 87 
" Lead Distinguished from 
King Lead, yy 

Judgment Required in Finess- 
ing, 61 

King Leads, 73 

" and Jack Leads Distin- 
guished, yy 
" and Queen Alone, 86 
" and One Small Card, 86 
" Led from Short Suits, 94 
" Queen and Small Cards, 
106, 180 



King, Jack, Ten Lead Changed, 
107. 181 

Laws of Whist, 187 

Lead, Throwing, 108 

Leads, American, 70 

" Ace, 72 

" King, 73 

" Queen, 75 

Jack, 76 
Ten, 78 

Nine, 78 

Fourth-best, 79 
" Original, 109 
" Examples of, 109 

Table of, 80, 92 
" Showing Number, 74, 75 
" Forced, 11 
" Old Style, 70 
" Conventional, 70 
" in Short Suits, 85 

in Plain Suits, 70, 80, 92 
" in Trumps, 81 
" for the Second Trick, 

133 
Leading Higher of Two Cards, 

87 
Back Tenaces, 49, 50 
from Tenace Suits, 36, 

37 
from Weak Suits, 124 
from Plain Suits, 72, 

80, 92 
Trumps, 81, 113, 114, 

117 
Singletons, 65, 90^ 120, 

121 



Leading Singleton in Preference 
to Tenace Suits, 

121 

Small Cards from K, Q, 
106, 1 80 
" Small Cards from 

"K, J, 10," 78 
" Supporting Cards, 12, 
62, 124, 146, 175 
Systems of, 70 
Up to Weakness, 176 
" from Five Trumps, 
113, 117 
" Six Trumps, 1 13 
" " Two Trumps, 

122 
" Singleton Trumps, 181, 

183 
" to Exhaust Trumps, 
114 
Locating Tenaces, 40, 41 
Long-Suit Play, Authorities for, 
12 
" Definition of, 85 
" A d a p t e d to 
Few Hands, 
184 
" " Predominance 

of, 13 
" Object of, 66, 

104 
" Usual Result 
of, 104 
Losing Tricks by Leading 
Trumps, 17 



Making the Most of Hands, 49 

Tricks in Trumps, 47 
Major and Minor Tenaces, 27 
Tenace, Leading Back, 

49 
" " Through, 

Minor Tenaces, Leading 
Through, 50 
" " Promoting, 

38 
Misuse of Trumps, 17 
Majority of Hands Adapted to 
Short Suit Play, 184 

Necessity for Brains, 125 
Negative Evidence of Short- 
Suit Leads, 70 
Nine Leads, 78, 87 
Not Leading Tenaces, 27 
" Guessing at Suits to Lead, 
123 
Number-Showing Leads, 74, 75 

Object of Long-Suit Play, 66, 
104 
" Strengthening Cards, 

175 
Objections to Singleton Leads, 

Obligatory Finesses, 58, 60 
Old Style Leads, 70, 71 
Only Finesses Usually Recom- 
mended, 61 
Opening Leads, 109 
Original Suit to Lead, 109 



Outline of the Short-Suit Game, 
184 

Partner's Cards, Increasing 
Value of, 146 
" Suits, Returning, 144 
Weak Suits, Protect- 
ing, 185 
Partner Assisted by Supporting 
Cards, 185 
" to Play Short-Suits with, 
186 
Passing Strengthening Cards, 

62 
Placing the Lead, 62 
Plain Suits, System of Leads, 

72, 80, 92 
Plain-Suit Echo, 136 
Playing for a Cross Ruff, 64 

" " Tenace Position, 39 
Practice, Importance of, 51, 174 
Predominance of Long - Suit 

Play, 13 
Preliminary Remarks, 9 
Preserving and Profiting by 

Tenaces, 105 
Principles of the Short-Suit 

Game, 105, 184 
Problemetical Nature of all 

Finessing, 61 
Promotion of Minor Tenaces, 38 
" Intermediate 

Cards, 145 
Protecting Partner's Weak 

Suits, 185 
Pole's Theory of Whist, 12 



Queen Leads, 7$ 

Queen and One Other, 87 

Queen Led from Short Suits, 95 

Recapitulation of Leads, 92 
Recognizing Irregular Leads, 93 
Recommendations for Short- 
Suit Players, 125, 126 
Refusing to Finesse, 61 
Relative Position of Tenaces, 

Results of Long Suit Play, 104 
" Short-Suit Leads, 14, 

H5 
Returned Suits, Finessing, 59 
Returning Short-Suit Oppo- 
nents' Leads, 178 
" Partner's Suits, 144 

Risk in Returning Short Suits, 

177 
Ruffing, 63, 

Rules for Detecting Short Suits, 
100 

Second Hand Finesse, 54 
" Play, 133, 148 
Trick, 133, 135 
Secondary Leads, Showing 

Number, 74 
Selecting Best Suit to Lead, 109 
Short Suit Experiment 14 
Leads, 85, 88, 90 
" " Negative Evi- 

dence of, 70 
" " Detecting, 92, 

100 



Short-Suit Game, 104, 184 

" " Fundamental 

Principle of, 
105 
" " an Addition, 

not a Sub- 
stitute, 17 
Short-Suiters Playing with 

Long Suit Partners, 175 
Singletons; 65,67,68,90, 118, 
119, 120 
" in Trumps, 181, 183 

Self- Reliance, Advantage of, 69 
Small-card Leads, Difficulty in 
Understanding, 87, 
102 
" Led from K Q, 106, 

180 
" Led from " K J, 

10," 78, 181 
" Leading from Two 

Only, 87 
" \Vinning4th Hand, 

43 
Sneaks, 65 

Stowe's (Bond) Rules, 100 

Strengthening Cards, 12, 62, 124 

146, 175 
System of Leading Plain Suits, 
70 
" " Trumps, 81 

Supporting Cards, 12, 62, 124, 
1 146, 175 
Suits of Five Cards, Value of, 

132 



Table of Plain Suit Leads, 80, 
92 
Short-Suit Leads, 88 
" Thira-Hand Play, 142 
Technical Terms, 19 to 25 
Tenace, 26 

" Value of, 12 
" Ignorace of, 26 
" Importance of, 49 
" Theory of, 29 
" Derivation of theWord, 
26 
Tenaces, Major and Minor, 27 
" Not Leading, 27 
" Loss from Neglecting, 

28,48 
" Error of Leading, 30, 

35 
" Established in Course 

of Play, 34 
" Giving up, 37 
" Transposing, 37 
" Promoting Minor, 38 
" Locating, 4c 
" Division of, 41 
" Imperfect, 44 

Vice, 44 
" in Trumps, 46 
" Leading Back, 49, 50 
\ Leading Through, 50 
" Preserving, 105 
TenLeads, 78 
" and One Other, 87 
" Led from Short Suits, 97 
Tendency to Ruffing in the 
Short-Suit Game, 63 



Theory of Tenace Illustrated, 29 

Third-Hand Play, 136, 142, 143 

on Honors Led, 

136 
" Small Cards 
Led, 137 
" Finesses, 53 

Throwing the Lead, 108 
Trumps, Conventional Leads, 
81, 122 
" Misuse of, 17 
" Loss by Leading, 17 
" Tenaces in, 44 
" and Their Uses, 113 
" Exhausting Them, 

114 
" Finessing in, 144 
" Making Sure of Two 

Rounds, 144 
" Used to Draw Other 

Trumps, 47 
" Trick-Taking Possi- 
bilities of, 105 
Trump Leads, 81, 122 

" " with Five, 113, 

117 
with Six, 113 
" Singletons, Leading, 181 

183 
Strength with Single- 
tons, 68 
Two Forms of Finesse, Usually 
Recommended, 61 

Underplay, 151 

Unblocking in Plain Suits, 136 



Uniform System, Advantage of 

13 
Unsoundness of Long - Suit 

Methods, 104 

Uses of Trumps, 113 

Using Trumps to Draw Trumps, 

47 
Usual Result of Long Suit Play, 

104 

Value of Aces, 30 

" Tenace, 12, 49, 105 
Varieties of Finesse, 52 
Vice Tenaces, 44 

Waiting Too Long, 107 

": for Suits to be Led, 32, 
35- 36, 47 
Weak Suits, Leading from, 124 
" " Protecting Part- 

ner's, 185 
" Trump Suits, When to 
Lead, 122, i8r, 183 
Weakness, Exposing to Adver- 
saries, 68 
" Leading up to, 176 

Whist-Players, Classes of, 10 
When Tricks are Won Cheaply, 

41 
" Not to Finesse, 61, 62 

Winning Tricks with Small 
Cards, 43 

Yarborough Hands, 119 



S04 



R. F. FOSTER'S WORKS. 



Foster's Duplicate Whist. 

By R. F. FOSTER, the Author of the " Whist Manual^ and the Inventor 
of the " Self-playing Whist Cards." 

A complete course of instruction in Whist Strategy ; giving the 
various systems of play adopted by experts ; together with ex- 
haustive schedules for the arrangement of any number of players 
at Duplicate Whist ; methods of comparing hands, and of arriving 
at the comparative merits of the players. 

I vol., cloth, gilt edges, uniform with " Foster's Whist Man- 
ual." $i 25 



Foster's American Leads and 

How to Learn Them. 

It is in response to the requests of numerous pupils that Mr. 
Foster has undertaken the task of arranging a simple method of 
learning "American Leads" on the same general principles as 
those which have proved so successful in his " Whist Manual." 
Illustrated with diagrams and tables. Bound prettily in appro- 
priate board covers, gilt edges, and uniform in size of page and 
type with " Foster's Whist Manual." 

1 vol., $ 25 



Foster's Pocket Guide to Modern Whist. 

A handy-sized condensed treatise containing clear and concise 
statements concerning " The Elements of Whist," "Suggestions 
for Good Play/' etc. 

I vol., in card-board covers, ••••*$ 25 



R. F. FOSTER'S WORKS. 



Foster's Self-Playing Whist Cards. 

The Cleverest and Most Practical Invention for Teaching Good 
Whist. This is not a new game, but an ordinary pack of flay- 
ing cards, so arranged that, although dealt face down, they will 
play themselves. The object is to permit prearranged games, 
which are fine examples of Whist, to be properly played by a less 
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two, or three persons can play with these cards exactly as if four 
persons were present. At the same time these cards will indi- 
cate to each player, at every stage of the game, the manner in 
which such combinations of cards as he may happen to hold 
would be played by an expert if he were present and held them. 

Pack No. i. First Series. {Out of print.') 
Pack No. 2. Second Series. Contains 32 games. 
Each pack in a box, with full explanations, instructions, and 
analyses of the games, .......$ 75 

*** To those desirous of studying Whist, this invention will prove of 
immense assistance. 

Sent prepaid by any Bookseller in the United States on receipt of 
price, or by the Publishers, 

BRENTANO'S 
31 Union Square, New York. 

204-206 Wabash Avenue, 1015 Pennsylvania Avenue, 

Chicago, 111. Washington, D. C. 



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